Nations that protect data protect their destiny

Have you noticed that “national sovereignty” has never been under attack like it is today, in all parts around the world. It gives a nation purpose, identity, and control over its destiny. In the digital age, this control extends beyond borders and armies, it lies in data. Data sovereignty refers to the principle that information is subject to the laws and governance of the nation where it is collected, stored, or processed. It is the digital equivalent of territorial sovereignty, ensuring that a country’s citizens and institutions retain ownership, privacy, and agency over their digital footprint.
Data has become the world’s most valuable resource, fuelling innovation, economic growth, and national competitiveness. Yet, as data flows across borders through cloud systems controlled by a few powerful corporations, questions of who truly “owns” this data arise. When the personal, financial, or strategic information of citizens and institutions is hosted on foreign servers, it becomes vulnerable to foreign jurisdictions, surveillance, or even manipulation.
This is not a theoretical concern. The US CLOUD Act (2018), for instance, allows American authorities to access data stored overseas by US-based companies, even if that data belongs to foreign citizens. The European Union responded with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Governance Act, aiming to protect citizens’ rights and set clear rules for cross-border data use. China, India, and the Gulf nations, including the Sultanate of Oman, are also developing national frameworks to localise and protect their data ecosystems, such as the Personal Data Law.
Digital Feudalism Threat
Today’s digital economy is dominated by a handful of corporations, commonly referred to as FANGAM (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google, Apple, Microsoft) to which we may now add Oracle and Palantir. These giants have built empires not on natural resources, but on the extraction of personal and behavioural data. They determine what we see, read, buy, and believe, reshaping how we know as democracies, markets, and societies.
This overreach is creating a new form of digital feudalism, where nations and citizens depend on foreign “data landlords” for storage, computing, and artificial intelligence. The implications go beyond privacy: Big Tech’s cloud monopolies influence elections, distort economies, and drain national value creation. Even their environmental footprint is alarming, data centres consume nearly 2 per cent of global electricity, a figure expected to triple with the rise of AI and cloud computing. Every social media post, video stream, and AI query consumes energy, often powered by fossil fuels in distant countries.
Risks and Real-Life Consequences
When data sovereignty is compromised, the risks are severe.
National security: Sensitive defence or infrastructure data stored abroad could be accessed by adversaries.
Economic dependence: Local startups and public institutions pay foreign corporations for data storage and cloud access, diverting value away from domestic economies.
Cultural manipulation: Evident in the recent TikTok and other social media deals, social media platforms controlled by non-local actors can shape public opinion and social behaviour, eroding cultural identity and political stability.
Sustainability: Outsourced cloud services increase global carbon emissions through high-energy data centres operating outside national oversight.
Oman’s Opportunity in the New Digital Order
Oman, like many nations, stands at a crossroads. With Oman Vision 2040 guiding its transformation, the Sultanate can assert leadership in digital sovereignty through strategic, sustainable steps:
1. National data infrastructure: Establish sovereign cloud data centres within Oman to ensure that critical government and private sector data remain under national jurisdiction.
2. Robust legal frameworks: Develop comprehensive data protection and cybersecurity laws aligned with international best practices such as the EU’s GDPR, but tailored to Omani values and culture.
3. Regional cooperation: Collaborate with GCC partners to create a shared Arab Data Cloud that strengthens digital independence while fostering economic integration.
4. Green data strategy: Promote renewable-powered data centres to balance innovation with environmental responsibility.
5. AI and Local Talent Development: Invest in AI research, coding academies, and digital literacy programmes to ensure that Oman’s data is managed by Omanis.
Toward Digital Independence
In the same way nations once guarded their borders, ports, and oil reserves, they must now safeguard their data reserves. The future of sovereignty will be written not only in constitutions but in code, algorithms, and cloud architectures. For Oman and the wider region, data sovereignty is not merely a technical issue but an existential one, determining who shapes our economy, our knowledge and our freedom.
The path forward is clear: nations that protect their data protect their destiny.