Transborder Data Flow: A Review of Issues and Policies

The ideal of unhindered transborder data flow (TDF) is shown to be unrealistic; numerous barriers exist, created by various factors. Four facets of TDF are examined: privacy and data protection, the role of the European Economic Community, TDF between the Eastern bloc countries and the West, and Third World reactions to the domination of TDF by the industrialised nations. International organisations have a major role to play in efforts to accommodate the conflicting aims of the individual, the state and the commercial organisation.