Local Data Policies, Global Data Politics: How Citizens Evaluate Data Localization Policies and Political Responses

Abstract Data localization policies, requiring firms to store and process data within the jurisdictions where the data is collected, are increasingly used as a form of digital trade protectionism. Despite the global growth of such policies and their politicization within trade negotiations, it remains unclear how citizens respond to their adoption. In this article, we integrate research on digital globalization and trade preferences to explain citizens’ attitudes toward data localization efforts. Using a factorial experiment embedded in an online, nationally representative survey of Americans, we find clear evidence that frames emphasizing potential costs to the American economy shift attitudes against data localization policies. By comparison, we find null effects for frames that stress the benefits of data localization policies for the digital sovereignty of other countries. We also find stronger evidence that ethnocentric valuations, not geopolitical concerns, shape how Americans evaluate trade agreements that enable such policies.