伴随数字技术渗透到人类生产生活的方方面面,全球数字经济快速发展,数字社会逐步成为人们分享文明进步的新空间。数据作为数字经济的关键要素,在创新发展和公共治理中正在发挥越来越重要的作用。数据跨境流动对于各国电子商务、数字贸易乃至经济科技文化等诸多方面至关重要,不仅可以有效降低贸易成本,提高企业开展国际贸易的能力,还有助于促进贸易便利化,加快产业数字化转型,弥合数字鸿沟,实现以数据流动为牵引的新型全球化。目前,国际社会正在积极探索形成全球数字领域规则和秩序,联合国制定发布《全球数字契约》、世贸组织电子商务谈判以及《全面与进步跨太平洋伙伴关系协定》(CPTPP)、《数字经济伙伴关系协定》(DEPA)等多双边实践正在开展,这些均体现了推动全球数据跨境流动合作、促进数据跨境流动已经成为各国或地区共同的意愿和选择。
我们注意到,在推动全球数据跨境流动实践的同时,各国普遍关注国家安全、公共利益、个人隐私以及知识产权等风险。我们认为,国际社会应在充分尊重各国、各地区因具体国情、社情而采取的不同政策法规和实践基础上,认真听取各方数据安全与发展的利益诉求,通过协商的方式推动国家间、地区间数据跨境流动规则形成共识。
我们呼吁各国秉持开放、包容、安全、合作、非歧视的原则,平衡数字技术创新、数字经济发展、数字社会进步与保护国家安全、公共利益、个人隐私和知识产权的关系,在推动数据跨境流动的同时实现各国合法政策目标。我们期待政府、国际组织、企业、民间机构等各主体坚守共商共建共享理念,发挥各自作用,推动全球数据跨境流动合作,携手构建高效便利安全的数据跨境流动机制,打造共赢的数据领域国际合作格局,推动数字红利惠及各国人民。
为此,我们倡议各国政府:
——鼓励因正常商业和社会活动需要而通过电子方式跨境传输数据,以实现全球电子商务和数字贸易为各国经济增长和可持续增长提供新的动力。
——尊重不同国家、不同地区之间数据跨境流动相关制度的差异性。支持不涉及国家安全、公共利益和个人隐私的数据自由流动。允许为实现合法公共政策目标对数据跨境流动进行监管,前提是相关监管措施不构成任意或不合理的歧视或对贸易构成变相限制,不超出实现目标所要求的限度。
——尊重各国依法对涉及国家安全、公共利益的非个人数据采取必要的安全保护措施,保障相关非个人数据跨境安全有序流动。
——尊重各国为保护个人隐私等个人信息权益采取的措施,鼓励各国在保护个人信息的前提下为个人信息跨境传输提供便利途径,建立健全个人信息保护法律和监管框架,鼓励就此交流最佳实践和良好经验,提升个人信息保护机制、规则之间的兼容性,推动相关标准、技术法规及合格评定程序的互认。鼓励企业获得个人信息保护认证,以表明其符合个人信息保护标准,保障个人信息跨境安全有序流动。
——鼓励探索建立数据跨境流动管理负面清单,促进数据跨境高效便利安全流动。
——合力构建开放、包容、安全、合作、非歧视的数据流通使用环境,共同维护公平公正的市场秩序,促进数字经济规范健康发展。
——提高各类数据跨境流动管理措施的透明度、可预见性和非歧视性,以及政策框架的互操作性。
——积极开展数据跨境流动领域的国际合作。支持发展中国家和最不发达国家有效参与和利用数据跨境流动以促进数字经济增长,鼓励发达国家向发展中国家,特别是最不发达国家提供能力建设和技术援助,弥合数字鸿沟,实现公平和可持续发展。
——鼓励利用数字技术促进数据跨境流动创新应用,提高保障数据跨境高效便利安全流动的技术能力,推动数据跨境流动相关的技术与安全保障能力评价标准的国际互认,做好知识产权保护工作。
——反对将数据问题泛安全化,反对在缺乏事实证据的情况下针对特定国家、特定企业差别化制定数据跨境流动限制性政策,实施歧视性的限制、禁止或者其他类似措施。
——禁止通过在数字产品和服务中设置后门、利用数字技术基础设施中的漏洞等手段非法获取数据,共同打击数据领域跨境违法犯罪活动,共同保障各国公民和企业的合法权益。
我们愿意在以上倡议基础上与各方开展和深化数据跨境流动领域的交流合作,我们呼吁各国、各地区通过双多边或地区协议、安排等形式呼应、确认上述倡议。欢迎国际组织、企业、民间机构等各主体支持本倡议。
Global Cross-border Data Flow
As digital technologies increasingly permeate every aspect of daily life and production, the global digital economy has experienced rapid development, with digital societies emerging as new spaces for sharing the progress of human civilization. As an essential element in the digital economy, data is playing an increasingly important role in innovative development and public governance. Cross-border data flows are vital to e-commerce, digital trade, and various aspects of global economic, technological and cultural activities. It can reduce trade cost, enhance companies' capacity to engage in international trade, facilitate trade processes, accelerate industrial digitalization, bridge the digital divide, and foster a new type of globalization driven by data flows. Currently, the international community is actively exploring and establishing global rules and order in the digital sphere. Bilateral and multilateral efforts such as the Global Digital Compact by the United Nations, negotiations on e-commerce at the World Trade Organization, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement exemplify the shared willingness of and choices made by countries and regions worldwide to promote cooperation on cross-border data flows.We noticed that, while promoting global cross-border data flows, countries are primarily concerned with risks related to national security, public interests, personal privacy, and intellectual property. We believe that the international community should fully respect the different policies and practices adopted by various countries and regions based on their specific conditions. It is crucial to pay heed to each party's concerns regarding data security and development and to work toward building consensus on cross-border data flow rules through consultation among countries and regions.We call on all countries to uphold principles of openness, inclusiveness, security, cooperation, and non-discrimination, balance the promotion of digital technology innovation, the development of the digital economy, and the advancement of digital society with the protection of national security, public interests, personal privacy, and intellectual property, and foster cross-border data flows while ensuring that each country's legitimate policy goals are met. We hope that governments, international organizations, businesses, and civil society will adhere to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits. By playing their respective roles, they can promote global cooperation on cross-border data flow, jointly build a mechanism to ensure efficient, convenient and safe cross-border data flow and an open and mutually beneficial landscape for international cooperation in the data sphere, and ensure that the benefits of digital advancements are shared by people worldwide.To make this happen, we suggest the following:——Governments should encourage electronic cross-border data transmission to meet the needs of business and social activities. This will help global e-commerce and digital trade serve as new drivers for economic growth and sustainable development.——Governments should respect the regulatory differences of various countries and regions in cross-border data flows. They should support free data flows that do not violate national security, public interests, and personal privacy. Regulations on cross-border data flows should be permitted when they aim to achieve legitimate public policy objectives on the premise that such regulatory measures do not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade, and do not cross the limits of the goals they seek to achieve.——Governments should respect security measures taken by all countries in accordance with their laws to protect non-personal data related to national security and public interests, and ensure the secure and orderly cross-border flows of relevant non-personal data. ——Governments should respect measures taken by all countries to protect personal information rights and interests including individual privacy. Countries should be encouraged to provide convenient channels for cross-border transmission of personal information on the condition that such information is well protected. Countries should be encouraged to establish and improve legal and supervision frameworks on personal information protection, conduct exchanges on best practices and experiences, improve the compatibility of personal information protection mechanisms and rules, and foster mutual recognition of relevant standards, technology regulations and conformity assessment procedures. Enterprises should be encouraged to obtain personal information protection certifications to demonstrate their compliance with personal information protection standards and ensure the secure and orderly cross-border flows of personal information. ——Governments should support exploring the establishment of negative lists for managing cross-border data flow to promote efficient, convenient and safe cross-border data flow.——Governments should work together to create a data flow and usage environment that is open, inclusive, secure, and non-discriminatory, jointly uphold a fair and just market order, and promote the orderly and healthy development of the digital economy. ——Governments should enhance the transparency, predictability, and non-discriminatory nature of measures managing the cross-border flows of various types of data, as well as the interoperability of policy frameworks.——Governments should actively conduct international cooperation in the field of cross-border data flows. Support should be given to developing countries and the least developed countries to enable them to effectively participate in and utilize cross-border data flows so as to promote their digital economic growth. Developed countries should be encouraged to provide capacity building and technical assistance to developing countries, especially the least developed ones, in order to bridge the digital divide and achieve fair and sustainable development. ——Governments should encourage the use of digital technologies to promote innovative applications in cross-border data flows. They should improve technological capabilities to ensure efficient, convenient and safe cross-border data flows. They should advance international mutual recognition of evaluation standards for technical and security assurance capabilities related to cross-border data flows, and ensure effective intellectual property protection. ——Governments should oppose overstretching the concept of national security on data issues. They should object to making restrictive and differentiated policies on cross-border data flows targeting specific countries and enterprises without factual evidence, or implementing discriminatory restrictions, prohibitions, and other similar measures against specific countries and enterprises. ——Governments should prohibit illicit acquisition of data through methods such as setting up backdoors in digital products and services or exploiting vulnerabilities in digital technology infrastructure. They should collaborate to crack down on cross-border illegal activities in the data field and jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of citizens and enterprises in all countries. We are ready to carry out and deepen exchanges and cooperation in the field of cross-border data flows with all parties based on the above initiative. We call on all countries and regions to respond to and endorse the above initiative through bilateral, multilateral, or regional agreements and arrangements. We welcome the support of international organizations, businesses, and civil society for this initiative.