BSA launches international coalition to advocate for the ability to move data across borders

WASHINGTON – January 22, 2020 – Today, BSA | The Software Alliance launched the Global Data Alliance, a cross-industry coalition of companies that are committed to high standards of data responsibility and that rely on the ability to transfer data around the world to innovate and create jobs.

Alliance members include BSA members and American Express, Amgen, AT&T, Cisco, Mastercard, Panasonic, United Airlines, Verizon, Visa, and WD-40 Company. These companies are headquartered across the globe and are active in the advanced manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, electronics, entertainment, financial and payment services, health, consumer goods, supply chain, and telecommunications sectors, among others. BSA | The Software Alliance administers the Global Data Alliance.

“The seamless, trusted movement of information across borders drives the global economy forward. It supports innovation and job creation,” said Victoria Espinel, President and CEO of BSA | The Software Alliance. “Forward-looking companies understand that today’s data ecosystem runs on trust: the trust of business partners, of consumers, and of the public. The companies in this Alliance share a commitment to responsible data stewardship and working with governments around the world to build this trust.”

Open and innovative economies are taking steps to develop policies that maximize the economic potential of the cross-border movement of information while building trust. And for good reason: Enterprises of all sizes and across sectors depend upon the movement of information around the world to design, create, and export new products and services; to enhance business processes and increase productivity; to reach new customers globally; and to engage in research, development, and innovation. And this movement of information is also associated with scientific advances and improved health and safety outcomes. For example:

• In farming, 90 percent of crop losses are caused by weather. But food production can be protected when crop damage is reduced by virtue of predictive weather modeling and other precision agriculture techniques that draw upon data gathered from thousands of sensors across countries and regions.
• In advanced manufacturing, companies are combining IoT sensors with predictive analytics software to improve workplace safety and increase productivity, while reducing unplanned maintenance and factory downtime. These software tools perform real-time analysis of performance indicators gathered from factories around the world, measuring things like vibration, heat, and energy use to better understand what is going on deep inside machinery and identify potential equipment failures.
• In the health sector, universities and other institutions deploy research and laboratory data in AI-powered systems that cross-reference clinical queries with insights gleaned from thousands or millions of potentially relevant medical studies from around the world – leading to the delivery of better diagnoses, more cost-effective bio-pharmaceutical research, and the development of new life-saving cures.
• In the financial sector, services providers analyze data generated in various parts of the world to detect patterns, identify and stop fraudulent transactions, and help combat other criminal behavior.
• In the transportation sector, all types of conveyances – in the air, on land, and at sea – continually communicate billions of operational and business-related data elements across borders to radar stations, data centers and control towers, ensuring efficient operations, reducing emissions, and protecting lives.

With member companies active in these sectors, the Alliance supports policies that help instill trust in the digital economy while safeguarding the ability to transfer data across borders and refraining from imposing data localization requirements that restrict trade.

The Global Data Alliance will leverage the extensive international experience of BSA’s staff and their presence in Washington, Beijing, Brussels, Bangkok, New Delhi, São Paulo, Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo to contribute to policy discussions on issues regarding data transfers. To learn more, visit: www.globaldataalliance.org.

About the Global Data Alliance

The Global Data Alliance is a cross-industry coalition of companies that are committed to high standards of data responsibility and that rely on the ability to transfer data around the world to innovate and create jobs. The Alliance supports policies that help instill trust in the digital economy while safeguarding the ability to transfer data across borders and refraining from imposing data localization requirements that restrict trade.

Alliance members include BSA members and American Express, Amgen, AT&T, Cisco, Mastercard, Panasonic, United Airlines, Verizon, Visa, and WD-40 Company. These companies are headquartered across the globe and are active in the advanced manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, electronics, entertainment, financial and payment services, health, consumer goods, supply chain, and telecommunications sectors, among others. BSA | The Software Alliance administers the Global Data Alliance.