Fragmented Rules, Global Flows: How Legal Differences Shape the Cross-Border Data Landscape - Evidence from the EU, US, and China

The exchange of data across borders has become crucial for international commerce and technological progress. However, major differences in privacy principles and regulatory systems among China, the United States, and Europe have led to fragmented global data governance. This paper examines whether such institutional differences hinder the global economy. Through analysis of cases including Meta, TikTok, Microsoft, and Apple-Google, the study finds that these differences create data barriers, raise compliance costs, and limit cross-border collaboration. To address this, the paper proposes a multi-level coordination framework—international, regional, and national—to achieve equilibrium in data autonomy and international data exchange.