Tariff Wars and Chip Wars, but What about ‘Data Wars?’

Brian Hengesbaugh, CIPP/US, Global Chair Data and Cyber, Baker McKenzie 

Joe Jones, Research and Insights Director, IAPP 

Lara Liss, Chief Privacy and Data Trust Officer, GE Healthcare

As the world grapples with “wars” on tariffs and chips, what about “data?” Are we living in an era of “data wars” that raise even higher stakes than other wars? There is an expanding array of motivations driving the data wars, including national security, economic competitiveness, sovereignty, anti-discrimination/fairness, human rights, and other goals, and the broad impact on the use of artificial intelligence, personal and nonpersonal data, and more. The effectiveness of the World Trade Organization and other multilateral frameworks that could otherwise help moderate the impact of these sudden shifts has diminished effectiveness. National-security and sovereignty-motivated policies restricting data flows, such as the U.S. Department of Justice Final Rule on Protecting Americans’ Sensitive Data from Foreign Adversaries, have a prevailing influence. There is competition between, and confrontation among the different approaches among significant global players, including China, the U.S. and Europe, and the role of emerging powers, such as India, Brazil and the Gulf in the global matrix.

What you will learn:

• How a new era of "data wars" are driven by divergent national security, economic competitiveness, anti-discrimination/fairness, AI and other considerations.
• The acute challenges raised by competing differences between the US, China and Europe, as well as emerging powers such as India, Brazil and the Gulf.
• Practical insights on how global businesses, policymakers and regulators can navigate this multidimensional and multipolar global web of complexity.