This paper investigates the key levers of 'data governance': the set of rules and enforcement mechanisms that discipline the collection, access, storage and processing of data. We argue that data governance is shaped by three major regulatory fields: data control, national security and competition law. These three seemingly separate legislative strands are interconnected in many different ways, placing the policy maker before a complex set of trade-offs.
Data governance is of crucial importance for the digital economy. Fleshing out its key levers, this paper comes to three broad conclusions: a) multiple regulatory domains intersect in the digital space, with sometimes unpredictable effects; b) international regulatory fragmentation in the digital space constitutes a risk which requires dialogue and coordination; c) given the impact of data governance on the financial sector, sectoral regulators should take an active part in framing it.