[1] One of the first moves towards data localization occurred in 2005 when the Government of Kazakhstan passed a law for all ".kz" domains to be run domestically (with later exceptions for Google).
[2] However, the push for data localization greatly increased after revelations by Edward Snowden regarding United States counter-terrorism surveillance programs in 2013.
[3][4] Since then, various governments in Europe and around the world have expressed the desire to be able to control the flow of residents' data through technology.
[3][7] Some vendors, such as Microsoft, have used data storage locale controls as a differentiating feature in their cloud services.
To counter the protectionist impulses of the EU and other countries, a number of regional free trade agreements prohibit data localization requirements and restrictions on cross-border flow.