Oxford Insights
As the internet and data use have evolved, they have become crucial drivers of a country’s economic development, important enablers of government functions, and focal points of debate in international relations. Innovation in commercial technology can confer a huge competitive advantage to a country’s economy. But the pursuit of technological advancement must be moderated by human concerns of social benefit and fairness.
The state is uniquely well-placed to carry out this balancing act. However, choosing what kind of data governance regime to adopt is a deeply political act. The most important state actors in cyberspace have introduced vastly different legal codes, and developing countries tend to follow their biggest economic partners’ approach as they develop their own data strategies.
To help understand the new landscape of data legislation, we give an overview of four approaches to data governance: the European Union, China, the United States and India.
Cover photo by lynying Ju on Unsplash
