Unleashing internal data flows in the EU: An economic assessment of data localisation measures in the EU member states

Forced data localisation measures are on the rise around the world, fragmenting the Internet and increasing costs for businesses and consumers. Until the year 2000, only 15 measures were imposed globally. By 2007, the number of measures doubled and it more than doubled again until today. The study has identified 22 data localisation measures where European Union Member States impose restrictions on the transfer of data to another Member State. The most common restrictions target company records, accounting data, banking, telecommunications, gambling and government data. In addition, there are at least 35 restrictions on data usage that could indirectly localise data within a certain Member State. A real EU Single Market on data storage is yet to come into function in practice: Two-thirds of all demand for "ICT-related" services (consulting, hosting, development) are sourced locally within each Member State, while only 18% is sourced from the rest of the EU. Meanwhile, the cost difference of operating data centres can be considerable amongst the EU Member States, with the most expensive country being twice as expensive as the cheapest. (...)