An Internet with BRICS Characteristics: Data Sovereignty and the Balkanisation of the Internet

Data sovereignty, a catch-all term to describe different state behaviours towards data generated in or passing through national internet infrastructure, has become a topic of significant international debate in the wake of the Snowden revelations. A spectrum of approaches has emerged, with the United States and its allies viewing data ‘localisation’ as a threat to a free and open global internet and countries such as Russia, China and Brazil advocating for data sovereignty as a way of securing sensitive national data from foreign surveillance. This paper will examine BRICS-country approaches to data sovereignty, both by individual countries and as a group. Past participation by BRICS countries in internet governance forums will be examined, and a requirements analysis will be undertaken of data sovereignty needs. The risks posed by different interpretations of data sovereignty will be reviewed, with an assessment of whether the creation of a virtual ‘BRICS bloc’ would necessarily amount to full-scale internet Balkanisation.