The new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which was announced Sept. 30, 2018, and succeeds the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), restricts the parties abilities to localize data freely. Some would argue that the USMCA runs counter to the countrys existing data sovereignty and privacy efforts to date with British Columbia and Nova Scotia having data localization requirements mandating that public sector data be stored within Canada. The provisions also include a safe harbour for internet intermediaries, prohibiting members from imposing liability on internet companies for content posted by its users.
