European privacy law is a bold new world for U.S. businesses doing business in Europe. An October Court of Justice ruling struck down the Safe Harbor arrangement which had governed E.U.-U.S. data transfer transactions for years. European officials said the U.S. wasn’t doing enough to safeguard the personal data of European citizens and that increased protections were needed.

European Union Positions on Data Use and Transfer -

..All the member states of the EU are also signatories of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Article 8 of the ECHR provides a right to respect for one's "private and family life, his home and his correspondence", subject to certain restrictions.