We study the international protection of consumer data in a model where data from product sales generate additional revenue to firms but disutility to consumers. When data usage lacks transparency, a firm suffers a commitment problem and overuses consumer data. Greater transparency enables the firm to commit to less data usage, which boosts consumer demand and leads to a higher price but also higher output if the firm operates only in one country. A multinational firm faces more challenges when balancing the trade-offs in data usage across countries that differ in consumer preferences for privacy. Contrary to the result for a single country, more transparency can exacerbate data-usage and output distortions in the global economy, and unilateral data regulation by a country may reduce global welfare. There can be substantial gains from international coordination—though not necessarily uniformity—of data regulations.

我们在一个模型中研究消费者数据的国际保护，在该模型中，来自产品销售的数据为公司带来额外收入，但对消费者不利。当数据使用缺乏透明度时，公司就会遇到承诺问题并过度使用消费者数据。更高的透明度使公司能够承诺减少数据使用量，这会促进消费者需求，如果公司仅在一个国家开展业务，则会导致更高的价格和更高的产出。跨国公司在平衡消费者隐私偏好不同的国家之间的数据使用权衡时面临更多挑战。与单个国家的结果相反，更高的透明度会加剧全球经济中的数据使用和产出扭曲，而一个国家的单边数据监管可能会降低全球福利。