In recent years, with the development of information technology, digital trade has gradually become the center of international trade development, more and more countries are cooperating to join in the digital trade, and the global economy has been further developed. Unlike traditional trade, digital trade is more conducive to stimulating innovation and providing opportunities for small and micro enterprises to join the international trade industry, while also making global connections closer.
The collection of personal data is essential for the provision of cross-border digital services, but since data has become an important national resource, it is not only related to personal privacy, but also to national security. Besides, different countries have different views on cross-border data, such as the U.S. is more inclined to develop trade while working to promote the free flow of data across borders, while the EU is more concerned about the protection of personal privacy and therefore sets up many barriers for cross-border data compliance, and even some developing countries adopt data protectionism and restrict the exit of data due to insufficient development of information technology to prevent their own interests from being damaged. As a result, different frictions arise regarding the cross-border transportation of data, such as the abolition of the EU-US Safe Harbor and EU-US Privacy Shield agreements. Such frictions make companies providing cross-border data services, especially micro and small enterprises, suffer huge losses, and are also detrimental to the development of global trade.
As an important and rapidly developing part of global trade, digital trade should be conformed to its current development. Based on the legislative level of cross-border data trade, this study combines theory and practice to comprehensively analyze the reasons why cross-border data trade should be supported in the context of data trade, and how to regulate cross-border data flow in the current context so as to balance the needs of personal privacy and economic development. This paper proposes that legal tools should be used to regulate and control the cross-border behavior of data and seek the maximum scope of cooperation.