The Trump administration has directed U.S. diplomats to advocate against foreign data sovereignty laws that regulate how American tech companies manage data from non-U.S. citizens. The administration, led by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, argues that such regulations could hinder the progress of AI services and technology, as reported by TechCrunch.
The diplomatic cable emphasizes concerns that these laws may disrupt global data flows, raise costs, increase cybersecurity risks, limit AI and cloud services, and give governments more control that could infringe on civil liberties and enable censorship.
U.S. diplomats are instructed to push back against stringent regulations like data localization mandates, monitor proposals supporting data sovereignty laws, and promote the Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules Forum, which aims to facilitate trusted data flows internationally through privacy certifications.
This directive aligns with the Trump administration’s historical opposition to regulatory measures targeting Big Tech companies and AI firms’ data practices. As global scrutiny on tech companies’ data usage intensifies, especially led by the EU with laws like the GDPR and the Digital Services Act, the U.S. government aims to support American AI companies by resisting such regulations.
Source: TechCrunch