Balancing Data Protection and Data Utilization: Global Perspectives and Trends

The exponential growth of personal data in the digital era has raised significant concerns regarding data protection and privacy. This work delves into the global perspectives and trends surrounding data protection laws, data security, cross-border data transfers, and data subjects' rights. It emphasizes the importance of balancing data utilization for economic benefits with safeguarding individuals' personal data. As the risks revealed by high-profile incidents, such as the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook scandal, Equifax data breach, and Yahoo data breaches, the hazards associated with unauthorized data exploitation have been underscored. The work examines the impact of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the proliferation of data protection legislation worldwide. It explores three international trends in data protection and utilization, including balancing personal data protection and data value utilization, promoting the sharing and utilization of public data, and establishing jurisdictional control over overseas data. However, providing an extraterritorial effect in data protection regulation faces challenges rooted in state sovereignty and non-interference. Evaluating the legitimacy of such claims requires consideration of international law sources, international conventions, customs, and general legal principles. Moreover, the benefit orientation of enterprises and technological progress limits the effectiveness of the "Brussels Effect," leading to jurisdiction-specific differentiation and fragmenting the global market.