Please join the GeoTech Center on Wednesday, March 16 from 12-1 p.m. ET for what promises to be a lively virtual discussion on the intersection of technology standards, data privacy, and geopolitics.

Since the EU adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2016, data governance and privacy laws have become critical frontiers for geopolitics. In particular, amid the political and economic tensions between the U.S. and China, American and allied critics often highlight China’s data collection and surveillance practices as overly invasive. The Chinese government still has extensive access to citizens’ personal data, though the country did take significant strides towards protecting consumer data from corporations and foreign entities by enacting a sweeping data privacy law in November 2021.

Recently, technology standardization also entered the geopolitical arena when China published its China Standards 2035 plan, which outlines a strategy to influence global standard setting for technology over the next 15 years. The plan was met with concern from the United States and its allies; foreign critics of the policy worry that it signals an effort by the Chinese to establish dominance over global tech markets.

In this GeoTech Hour, we will explore the intersection of data privacy and tech standardization policy, asking: How might increased Chinese involvement in standards setting affect data privacy elsewhere around the world? And how can American actors in standards setting organizations advocate for strong data protection?

Featuring

Asheesh Agarwal
Deputy General Counsel (former)
TechFreedom

Pam Dixon
Founder and Executive Director
World Privacy Forum

Jane K. Winn
Professor and Director, Shidler Center for Law, Commerce & Technology
University of Washington

Moderated by

Julian Mueller-Kaler
Resident Fellow, GeoTech Center
Atlantic Council