The U.S. restricted data transfers abroad. Cast as an assertion of sovereignty, the new posture signals weakness in great-power competition.

…When a great power restricts its data exports, the move suggests not only diminished control over platforms and infrastructure but also a lack of confidence in technological dominance and a posture defined by perceived strategic vulnerability…

…the EU’s approach to protecting individuals’ privacy was never just an expression of sovereignty. Protecting Europeans’ privacy by reining in data exports became necessary because of Europe’s infrastructural dependence, geopolitical frailty, and military irrelevance…

The United States did not feel the need to emulate Europe. For decades, the free flow of data served U.S. interests perfectly well. It allowed Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft to scale globally and crush local competitors…the U.S. championed free data flows because it was winning.

…the policy shift crystallizes the U.S.’s anxieties about its position in global competition.

Launched internationally in 2017, TikTok became the most downloaded app in the world by 2020…and the U.S. found itself on the receiving end of potential mass surveillance.

…TikTok’s success shattered conventional assumptions about U.S. technological supremacy. U.S. consumers voluntarily chose a Chinese-owned app over homegrown alternatives…

Regulatory actions reveal more about a country’s self-assessment than speeches or polls. They show what governments are willing to spend political capital on, what economic costs they are prepared to absorb, and what trade-offs they consider acceptable. The TikTok legislation—passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in a Congress that struggles to agree on almost anything else—alone reveals the depth of concern.

Countries also send messages through regulation, whether they intend to or not. When the United States builds data walls, it signals to allies and adversaries alike that it no longer feels confident enough to rely on the openness it once championed.

Europe turned to data export controls because it lacked technological power. Now the U.S. has joined the defensive club. Beijing will notice.