Transatlantic Cooperation on Data Governance and Digital Infrastructures

The trajectory of transatlantic cooperation on data governance has been hampered by divergent principles on data protection and privacy, and by incidents which eroded the trust between the two partners. A lack of alignment on data governance to regulate the flow of data can disrupt cooperation between the European Union and the United States on cutting-edge digital infrastructure, with severe economic and national security ramifications. The cases of cloud services and subsea ICT cables expose how the unresolved trust deficit still constitutes an obstacle to transatlantic cooperation on critical digital infrastructures. Several avenues for cooperation have emerged as suitable dimensions to restore trust at the transatlantic level and address the challenges of the digital landscape. Nonetheless, significant challenges remain.

Paper produced in the framework of the project “La cooperazione economica e tecnologica Ue-Usa di fronte alle nuove sfide geostrategiche e il ruolo dell’Italia”.