Current Threads
DPA threads group our database entries around current topics of public discourse, policy debate or international patterns identified by our team. The DPA threads are updated continuously and our team adds more in response to public and policy debates. Do you miss the factual base for a particular policy issue? Please email us at threads@digitalpolicyalert.org.
In the spotlight
US-China tensions under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
Last updated 29 Aug 2022
This DPA thread tracks investigations and regulatory developments in response to the US Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA). The law was implemented in 2020 to prevent oversight gaps due to foreign cross-border data transfer restrictions. Registered public accounting firms located abroad must allow full inspection access to a US oversight board. Clients of accounting firms that are in violation of the HFCAA must provide proof that they are not owned or controlled by a foreign gover...
Russia & Ukraine: Cybersecurity risk and data transfers
Last updated 12 Aug 2022
Data and systems security may be the next focal point of the Russian aggression on Ukraine and its international echo. Our team is monitoring changes in cybersecurity regulation and data transfer enforcement vigilantly. The Italian data protection agency has been the first to launch an investigation into the data handling practices of a Russian software provider. This DPA thread collects cases where other governments act to protect domestic data and systems.
State of trade barriers and internet fragmentation
Last updated 22 Sep 2022
This thread contains the data underlying our analysis of the state of trade barriers and internet fragmentation. The data consists of DPA entries of binding regulatory measures adopted or implemented by governments of the G20, EU member states or Switzerland in 2020 and 2021. A portion of these entries has also been reported in the USTR's 2022 NTE report. Note that also these entries have been independently verified by our team using official sources of the implementing jurisdiction.
All threads
US-China tensions under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
Last updated 29 Aug 2022
This DPA thread tracks investigations and regulatory developments in response to the US Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA). The law was implemented in 2020 to prevent oversight gaps due to foreign cross-border data transfer restrictions. Registered public accounting firms located abro...
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Russia & Ukraine: Cybersecurity risk and data transfers
Last updated 12 Aug 2022
Data and systems security may be the next focal point of the Russian aggression on Ukraine and its international echo. Our team is monitoring changes in cybersecurity regulation and data transfer enforcement vigilantly. The Italian data protection agency has been the first to launch an investiga...
22
15
State of trade barriers and internet fragmentation
Last updated 22 Sep 2022
This thread contains the data underlying our analysis of the state of trade barriers and internet fragmentation. The data consists of DPA entries of binding regulatory measures adopted or implemented by governments of the G20, EU member states or Switzerland in 2020 and 2021. A portion of these entr...
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Protection of user speech rights
Last updated 12 Sep 2022
Even though they are private fora, social media channels are widely perceived as platforms of public speech. Around the globe, regulators under the banner of free speech seek to clarify the rights of platform providers to set limits on permissible content and to block user access.
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Competition enforcement in the digital economy
Last updated 14 Sep 2022
Competition policy enforcement with respect to the digital economy is highly active within the DPA focus countries. Most cases concern the unilateral conduct of large technology companies as well as merger controls. There are, however, regional differences in the targeted economic activity. This thr...
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Russia & Ukraine: Content regulation and free speech
Last updated 12 Sep 2022
Governments worldwide are regulating the portrayal of the Russian aggression on Ukraine via digital media and platforms. In Russia, a new law prohibits the spread of "fake" information on the conflict and media regulator Roskomnadzor rigorously scrutinizes digital platforms. Internationally, governm...
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Russia & Ukraine: Cryptocurrencies and sanction enforcement
Last updated 11 Aug 2022
The economic policy response to the Russian aggression against Ukraine also affects the digital economy. Policymakers in Western countries are seeking to ensure that cryptocurrencies cannot be used to evade financial sanctions. At the same time, the Ukrainian government opened up to cryptocurrencies...
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