美国跨境数据流动的国际法规制路径与中国的因应

The International Law Regulation Path of Cross-border Data Flows by the United States and China’s Countermeasures

作为互联网大国,美国在规制跨境数据流动方面从一开始就确立了重数据自由流动而轻政府监管的路径,并将之贯穿于历届政府的对外贸易政策,以及世界贸易组织框架下的相关议题谈判和自由贸易协定谈判。这样的路径背后体现出美国国内法与国际法的紧密联系、更加关注消费者权利保护等特点。对其他国家所采取的限制数据流动的措施,美国常将之认定为'数据保护主义',但这样的认定带有明显的'双重标准'。对于我国而言,除了完善有关个人隐私保护的国内法,也应当通过政府间的磋商机制与美国展开双边层面的谈判,厘清数据保护主义与数据保护之间的界限。从宏观层面上看,我国也应当推动国际社会针对跨境数据流动形成多边国际法规范。

As a big Internet country,the United States has established a path by focusing on free data flow with little government supervision from the very beginning in regulating cross-border data flows.Such path has been used throughout the foreign trade policies of the successive governments,and the negotiations of related issues under the framework of the World Trade Organization and free trade agreements.It reflects the close interrelationship between domestic law and international law,and the protection of consumer rights.The measures taken by other countries to restrict data flow are often recognized by the United States as'data protectionism',yet such a determination bears a clear‘double standard’.For China,in addition to perfecting the domestic law on personal privacy protection,it should also conduct bilateral-level negotiations with the United States through an intergovernmental consultation mechanism to clarify the line between data protectionism and data protection.From a macro perspective,China should also promote the formation of multilateral international law norms for cross-border data flows by the international community.