American diplomats received orders: to resist European countries' data regulation of American companies.

According to a report by Reuters on February 25, the US government has ordered American diplomats to lobby against other countries' attempts to regulate American technology companies handling foreign data. Experts say that this move signals the Trump administration returning to a more confrontational stance, as some countries are seeking to restrict Silicon Valley companies' handling and storage of their citizens' personal information. These measures are often referred to as "data sovereignty" or "data localization". In a cable seen by Reuters dated February 18 and signed by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the US State Department stated that such measures would "disrupt global data flows, increase costs and cybersecurity risks, limit artificial intelligence and cloud services, and expand government control in ways that could harm civil liberties and promote censorship". The cable stated that the Trump administration is pushing for a "more aggressive international data policy" and has ordered its diplomats to "resist unnecessary strict regulations, such as mandatory requirements regarding data localization".