International data wars are brewing: U.S. telecommunications deregulation, Third World protectionism, and European privacy regulations may complicate or curtail data flow across borders

The prospect of what one electronics executive calls an “information war” is threatening the international telecommunications grid on which modern business depends for moving data around the world. For most of its history, this grid has operated reasonably well, through the cooperation of national telecommunications agencies and companies. But in the last few years, three developments have started to disrupt this cooperation and may lead to growing confrontations and conflicts.