A wide range of industry groups has sent a joint letter to the European Commission to express their opposition to the growing number of laws and regulations requiring digital service providers to store data locally. The letter signed by groups such as IAB, EuroISPA, Digital Europe and the CICA was sent to commissioners Andrus Ansip and Gunther Oettinger, responsible for the Digital Single Market, ahead of an expected Commission announcement on its 'Free Flow of Data Initiative' in January.
The industry groups, which also include trade organisations like AmCham and the Japan Business Council, are concerned about the myriad national regulations requiring different storage terms for things such as company data, tax data, book-keeping data, financial data, gambling data and health data. These are barriers to especially small firms working across the EU and are undermining the single market, the letter said. The national rules also contrast with the recently passed GDPR, which states that "The proper functioning of the internal market requires that the free movement of personal data within the Union is not restricted or prohibited."
Furthermore the groups argue that centrally stored data could be at a greater security risk for attacks, and local storage requirements drive up costs and stifle innovation. They would rather customers choose where their data is stored, than governments mandate local requirements.
The letter calls for the European Commission to confirm, through a Regulation, the general principle of the free flow of data and remove unjustified data location rules across the EU. Member states should be allowed to localise data only in very exceptional and pre-determined cases, after first gaining clearance for the measures from the European Commission.
