Over 20 companies call on G7 to establish Data and Technology Forum

Over 20 companies – including Dell Technologies, IBM, Mastercard, Siemens, SoftBank Group, Toyota, Visa, and Zoom – have called on G7 to establish a Data and Technology Forum dedicated to strengthening international coordination and cooperation on digital governance issues. The proposed forum would allow G7 countries to discuss and agree on core principles that will guide their efforts to improve governance of the digital economy. The forum would not act as a supranational regulator, but would enable governments to discuss and coordinate digital policies, and, where possible, mitigate overlapping, incongruent, or conflicting measures. It would also promote consensus on policy principles, regulatory approaches, and standards, and facilitate regulatory and policy coherence, data connectivity, and commercial interoperability. In the companies’ view, the forum should initially focus on the following key areas: cooperation on cybersecurity, regulation of cross-border data flows, and alignment of AI frameworks.