Global E-commerce and Data Localization Issues

Abstract

Commerce has evolved together with the internet. Commerce is con-ducted via the internet, which in turn, changes commerce. Electronic commerce (or e-commerce) is the most natural outcome derived from the evolution in the modern digital economy. Yet, it may come somewhat as a surprise to discover there are diverse definitions of e-commerce. The simplest possible way to define e-commerce would be "commerce via the internet," in which commerce is the sale or purchase of goods or services. In fact, it took more than a decade for several international or-ganizations, including the WTO, OECD, USITC, and UN, to reach a common definition of e-commerce.