This article explores how China is developing a unique location-based data outbound deregulation regime to mitigate the negative effects of its initial security-driven regulations. A major move is repurposing free trade zones with data outbound negative lists. Using an infrastructural-thinking framework, this article examines the evolution of data outbound regulation in China, recent initiatives in the country's free trade zones, and the dynamics between local and central governments. China's data outbound practices are enabled and constrained by its global information and telecommunication (ICT) infrastructural connectivity and domestic distribution. Free trade zones become appealing deregulation testing grounds due to their overlap with critical ICT hub locations and their role as sites for policy experimentation. The ongoing pilot projects, through the interplay of law and infrastructure, present promising potential to channel China's data outbound activities into specific areas, thereby increasing their visibility, making them more amenable to regulation, and fostering both local and national economies.
Published in Tsinghua China Law Review Vol. 16 No. 2 (2024), pp. 191-223. This paper draws insights from Guarini Global Law & Tech’s Global Data Law Project and Institute for International Law and Justice’s Infrastructure as Regulation Project.
