The EU Cuts Data Flows from the World. The U.S. Shouldn’t Hold the Knife.
In our digital age, you have to think of computers, phones, and the Internet as the veins of the world economy, and the data coursing through them as the blood sustaining the entire system. Just as blood is necessary to keep the body alive and maturing, so is data essential for innovation and economic growth. It’s the key to a well-functioning, interconnected global economy.
With that in mind, it’s fair to say the European Union has blood on its hands.
The EU implemented the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018 to protect EU citizens from private companies abusing their personal data hosted online. The law prevents selling consumers’ data without the consumer’s permission, gives consumers the right to request their data, and requires companies to implement a standardized minimum of security to prevent it from being stolen. While very well-intentioned, the measure has created mixed results, and it comes at quite a…
