Jurisdictional Issues in Global Transmissions

INTRODUCTION In the information age where teleconferences replace in-person meetings, where telecommuting replaces going to the office, and where international networks facilitate global transmissions with the apparent ease of calling one’s next-door neighbor, valuable assets change ownership at the speed of light. Louis Jionet, Secretary-General of the French Commission on Data Processing and Liberties stated: “Information is power and economic information is economic power.” Customs officials and border patrols cannot control the movement of these assets. But does this mean companies can transmit the data that either represents or is the valuable asset without regard to the legal jurisdictions through which they pass? To adequately address this question, both the legal issues and the practical issues involved in transnational border data flows are discussed in this article.