Jurisdictional Issues in Global Transmissions

Abstract

In the information age where teleconferences replace in-person meetings, telecommuting replaces going to the office, and international networks facilitate global transmissions with the apparent ease of calling your 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. Does that mean companies may transmit data, which either represents or is the valuable asset, without regard to the legal jurisdictions through which it passes? To adequately address this question we will discuss both the legal and the practical issues involved in transnational-border data flows.