Managing data flows from regional offices, business partners and customers around the world is an essential part of effectively doing business with any large multinational corporation (MNC) . Advances in the Internet have allowed companies to collect accurate data more quickly to better coordinate and integrate across geographically dispersed subsidiaries (Sambharya and Phatak 1990). Managing cross-border data flows introduces many complex restrictions that businesses must face, which will be discussed in this paper. Additionally, this paper will examine the key challenges of managing global telecommunications networks as well as what businesses can do to manage international data communications (IDC). Restrictions on cross-border data flows and how to manage these restrictions. ) is the process of moving machine-readable data across national borders using electronic means for storage and processing (Sambharya and Phatak 1990). The restrictions imposed by TDF can be divided into three main areas: privacy, economic issues, and national sovereignty considerations (Waples & Norris 1992). Privacy Protection Many countries adopted privacy laws in the 1970s to protect citizens from the growing ability to store and process personal data. (Waples and Norris 1992). These privacy laws can cause major problems for multinational companies, especially when handling sensitive employee payroll information in different countries. To help address this problem, Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published voluntary guidelines on privacy and TDF (Waples & Norris 1992). These guidelines covered: collection of personal data, security guarantees...... middle of paper ......Harish, C. & Bhatt, RK (1992). COMPUTER COMMUNICATION NETWORKS. Retrieved from: http://web.simmons.edu/~chen/nit/NIT'92/013-aro.htm Sambharya, RB and Phatak, A. (1990). The effect of restrictions on cross-border data flows on US multinational corporations. Management International Review, 30(3),267-290Sarkar, M., Cavusgil, S. and Aulakh, PS (1999). International expansion of telecommunications operators: influence of market structure, network characteristics and entry imperfections. Journal Of International BusinessStudies, 30(2), 361-381.Lai, VS and Chung, W. (2002). Management of international data communications. Communications of the ACM, 45(3), 89-93. Waples, E. & Norris, D.M. (1992). Cross-border information systems and data flows. Retrieved from: http://faculty.usfsp.edu/gkearns/Articles/Information%20Systems%20and%20Transborder%20Data%20Flow.htm