Ross sees expansion of APEC data rules as means to protect cross-border data flows

In a wide-ranging speech laying out the his department's services agenda, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Tuesday he was seeking to expand the voluntary Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's Cross Border Privacy Rules System as a way to prevent national cross-border data flow restrictions, such as data localization requirements. “In the digital space, governments inhibit U.S. companies by restricting cross-border data flows by forcing data localization,” Ross said at the Coalition of Services Industries Global Services Summit on Tuesday. “To mitigate national...