The BRICS countries have been playing an increasingly prominent role in global digital governance, as tellingly demonstrated by the recent adoption of a BRICS-led and brokered UN Convention against Cybercrimes. In this context the recent BRICS commitment to develop “a global framework for data governance, including cross-border data flows” reveals a clear intention to adopt a more assertive posture regarding global data governance. The rapid adoption of data-intensive technologies with transnational impact such as multiple platforms and (generative) Artificial Intelligence services has underscored the need for stronger cooperation in building comprehensive, cross-border data frameworks fostering secure and trustworthy data flows.  
However, many questions remain as regards how to build such frameworks. 

This webinar plans to provide an overview of BRICS data governance architectures, with a particular focus on the intersection between data and AI regulations, discussing how the grouping can advance the efforts towards a “a global framework for data governance” while reconciling data governance with data sovereignty. Special emphasis will be given to the implications of transnational data flows, data localization policies, and the enforcement of existing data protection laws. 

The webinar will be the occasion to present a proposal of Normative and Operational Principles for Data Governance Cooperation and a proposal of Model Contractual Clauses for the Transfer of Personal Data from Controller to Controller/Processor in the BRICS Countries, contained in the concluding chapter of the upcoming volume on Personal Data Architectures in the BRICS Countries. Oxford University Press. (2025).