China’s e-commerce proposal includes privacy protections, lacks data flow

China’s newly proposed draft text for World Trade Organization negotiations on electronic commerce includes privacy and transparency provisions, but what it lacks -- namely, provisions ensuring the free flow of data across borders and a ban on data localization -- runs counter to U.S. priorities in the fledgling negotiations. China last month detailed its positions on e-commerce in a WTO communication, declaring that issues like data flows and data localization required “more exploratory discussions” due to “their complexity and sensitivity”...