인터넷 제한조치 규제문제 관련 신무역규범의 논의동향과 시사점 : TPP협정의 국경간정보이동 및 데이터현지화 규정을 중심으로

This paper purposes to introduce the new trend of the trade rules on internet restrictions by analyzing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement signed in February 2016, and to provide its implications for the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) and Korea’s response to it. As the technologies and legal systems that restrict access and use of the internet have been advanced, concerns about the balkanization and localization of the global open internet are increasing. Nevertheless, the existence of binding international norms that can effectively regulate states’ internet restricting measures remains uncertain. Therefore, regional trade agreements, which have recently been concluded or being negotiated, are attracting attention as new discussions are under way to regulate excessive internet restrictions in terms of international trade law. Just to take the Electronic Commerce Chapter of the TPP Agreement as an example, in particular, it looks clear that Article 14.11 of “Cross-Border Transfer of Information by Electronic Means” and Article 14.13 of “Location of Computing Facilities” can contribute to prohibit internet restrictions which put up barriers to the free flow of information on the internet across borders. It is also conceivable that those provisions are designed to effectively deal with internet restrictions while circumventing the difficulties and concerns that may arise in applying existing WTO laws to the matter. In this respect, the new trade rules on the internet restrictions of the TPP Agreement are expected to serve not only as a good starting point for next regional or plurilateral trade agreements, including TISA, but also as a fine reference text to discuss new trade rules for electronic commerce and internet trade at the WTO level.