Dr Subhajit Basu quoted in Tech Monitor

Dr Subhajit Basu, Associate Professor of Information Technology Law, has been quoted in the article entitled 'Europe could become the unwitting victim of new US data nationalism bill'.

The article discusses the potential negative implications Europe may experience if the proposal of a new data nationalism bill is passed in the US. According to the article, the aim of the bill is to ‘curtail unfriendly foreign companies and governments obtaining US citizens’ personal data’. The article goes on to explain that ‘while squarely aimed at adversarial states such as China, there’s a chance Europe could be caught in the crosshairs – as conflict continues over the Irish data commission’s lack of bite’.

We spoke to Dr Basu about the article and the wider context of the issue, he said: “In the broader debate, I think there is no question that this Bill creates a sense of urgency for Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) to get its act together and start concluding investigations and take steps towards stricter regulatory actions.

“The US would undoubtedly welcome a more robust data governance from Ireland, particularly as the US have struggled to implement regulation without antagonising the Big Tech, whose practices have mainly expanded unchecked.

“Though there has been bipartisan willingness to enforce data protection rules. Battles over who controls data still remain and have resulted in a resurgence of geopolitical competition, termed as the data cold war”.

Read the full article.