ABSTRACT
From the viewpoint of data privacy, free trade agreements (FTAs) might pose a challenge when they contain a provision to facilitate free flows of data or prohibit legal or regulatory measures that would impede data flows among parties. It should be recalled that data protection at the international level entails some kinds of restrictions on the movement of personal data across borders. FTAs are likely to be among the defining factors in the evolution of data protection and privacy laws. From the economic perspective, certain data protection measures might be seen as barriers to cross-border flows of data and barriers to international trade, especially trade in sectors that heavily rely on data. The European Union (EU) was concerned the measures agreed upon as part of trade and investment partnership (TTIP) could undermine EU data protection standards. The experience of the TTIP negotiations suggests that an FTA with a third country may pose a challenge to the EU's data protection regime.
