MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil wants rules for internet data flows and takes the case to the WTO

Brazil is pushing for rules regarding responsibility of online platforms, the data they handle and defining ownership for information generated across jurisdictions

Brazil is pushing for the establishment of rules around Internet data flows and has presented a document on the subject to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to stress the urgency of starting a more objective debate. Amid concerns over Facebook's use of tracking users with pixels, Brazil joins the Netherlands, France, and EC in legal moves.

This is a follow-up on the discussions about e-commerce rules seen at the latest WTO ministerial conference held in Argentina in December, where some 80 countries have expressed some willingness to start negotiations around the theme, one of the most sensitive topics being around online data governance.

In the document presented to the WTO, Brazil attempts to create a sense of urgency around the debate - this includes the situations and conditions under which regulators can restrict data flows, in aspects not only limited to user privacy, but also cyber-security and spread of false information online.

The country is also pushing for rules around the responsibility of online platforms around the data they handle, as well as the definition of ownership for information generated across jurisdictions. This would in theory enable the creation of rules around data flows from one country to another.

The demands from Brazil for the WTO to take on the negotiation of new Internet-related issues comes as the debate continues around the alleged misuse of personal data of more than 71 million people by Facebook, Cambridge Analytica and other companies.

However, the inability of the WTO to address the issues related to data and e-commerce has been challenged for some time - this is especially relevant now with the rise of other smaller regional trade agreements such as Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which do cover digital trade rules.

Such expansion of the WTO remit would require a total redefinition of the standards and procedures for negotiations that are currently in place - and whether the body is able or willing to overhaul its own structures in order to keep up with the current digital trade debate is yet to be seen.