On Tuesday, February 2, the European Commission and the United States announced a political agreement on a framework for transatlantic data flows called the EU-US Privacy Shield. Currently the announcement appears to be aspirational, with implementation details yet to be decided.
The new Privacy Shield replaces the old Safe Harbor Program which was overturned in October of 2015 by the European Court of Justice and will provide a new mechanism for U.S. companies to transfer personal information to the U.S.
The agreement focuses on three elements:
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stronger obligations on U.S. companies handling Europeans’ personal data and more robust enforcement of those obligations;
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clear safeguards and transparency obligations on U.S. government access; and
effective protection of EU citizens’ rights with several redress possibilities.
The new agreement will now be sent to both EU and U.S. authorities for comment and approval.
We will continue to follow the progress on this agreement and will report back when additional details become available.
