The future of international data transfers: Managing legal risk with a ‘user-held’ data model

case and subsequent regulatory developments have further raised the bar for companies to comply with complex and, often, opaque rules.Many firms are, therefore, pursuing technology-based solutions in order to mitigate this new legal risk. These emerging technological alternatives reduce the need for open-ended cross-border transfers and the practical challenges and legal risk that such transfers create post-. This article examines one such alternative, namely a user-held data model. This approach takes advantage of ‘personal data clouds’ that allows data subjects to store their data locally and in a more decentralised manner, thus decreasing the need for cross-border transfers and offering end-users the possibility of greater control over their data.