Managing the flow of data from regional offices, business partners and customers around the world is an essential component of conducting business efficiently with any large multinational corporation (MNC). Advances in the Internet have enabled companies to more quickly collect accurate data to better coordinate and integrate all geographically dispersed subsidiaries (Sambharya and Phatak 1990). Managing cross-border data flows introduces many complex restrictions that businesses face, which will be discussed in this paper. Furthermore, this paper will examine the main challenges in managing the global telecommunications network and what companies can do to manage international data communications (IDC). Restrictions of cross-border data flows and how to manage such restrictions Cross-border data flows (TDF) ) is the process of moving machine-readable data across national borders using electronic means for storage and processing purposes (Sambharya and Phatak 1990). The restrictions under the TDF can be divided into three main areas: privacy protection, economic issues, and national sovereignty considerations (Waples & Norris 1992). Privacy Protection Many countries enacted privacy protection 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 big problems for multinationals, especially when it comes to sensitive employee payslip information in different countries. To help address this problem, the Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published voluntary guidelines on the protection of personal privacy and TDF (Waples & Norris 1992). These guidelines covered: Personal data collection, safety and security… half of the document… Harish, C. & Bhatt, R.K. (1992). COMPUTER COMMUNICATION NETWORKS. Retrieved from: http://web.simmons.edu/~chen/nit/NIT'92/013-aro.htm Sambharya, R.B., & Phatak, A. (1990). The effect of cross-border data flow restrictions on American multinationals. Management International Review, 30(3),267-290 Sarkar, M., Cavusgil, S., & Aulakh, P. S. (1999). International expansion of telecommunications operators: The influence of market structure, network characteristics and entry imperfections. Journal of International BusinessStudies, 30(2), 361-381. Lai, V. S., & Chung, W. (2002). Management of international data communications. Communications of the ACM, 45(3), 89-93. Waples, E. & Norris, D. M. (1992). Information systems and cross-border data flow. Retrieved from: http://faculty.usfsp.edu/gkearns/Articles/Information%20Systems%20and%20Transborder%20Data%20Flow.htm