The Trump administration has directed American diplomats to lobby against international efforts to regulate how U.S. technology companies manage the data of foreign citizens. According to a report citing an internal diplomatic cable, the administration argues that data sovereignty laws threaten the progress of artificial intelligence services and technology.
The cable, signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, states that such regulations would disrupt global data flows, raise costs and cybersecurity risks, limit AI and cloud services, and expand government control in ways that could undermine civil liberties and enable censorship.
Diplomats are instructed to counter what the administration views as unnecessarily burdensome regulations, including data localization mandates which require data to be stored within a country’s borders. They are also ordered to monitor proposals promoting data sovereignty laws and to advocate for the Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules Forum. This international group promotes trusted global data flows through privacy certifications.
This directive arrives as nations worldwide increase their scrutiny of how major technology and AI firms handle citizen data. The European Union has been a leader in this area with regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation, the Digital Services Act, and the AI Act. These laws aim to curb tech companies’ control and exploitation of user data and to ensure accountability.
The Trump administration has a history of opposing such regulatory frameworks. This order reinforces that stance as the U.S. government seeks to support and advance American AI companies. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.