Privacy Shield will enhance legal certainty

Today the European Commission adopted its adequacy decision enacting the new transatlantic framework for data flows, the “EU-US Privacy Shield.” This adoption will support innovation and growth, advance privacy and data protection and increase security.

Markus J. Beyrer, Director General of BusinessEurope said: “The adoption of Privacy Shield will enhance legal certainty for thousands of businesses on both sides of the Atlantic while providing an adequate level of protection for citizens’ data. Transatlantic data flows are fundamental to the success of the European economy and today’s decision will support job creation across industry.”

BusinessEurope has continuously stressed the urgent need for a reliable, durable and sustainable framework for international data transfers and has called on EU and national authorities to work constructively towards the creation of a new arrangement that will be applied consistently across the EU.

Businesses also support today’s result as a way to avoid the risk of fragmented national approaches to data transfers and look forward to continued collaboration with EU and US authorities to ensure the long-term success of Privacy Shield.

Background

Since the invalidation of the Safe Harbour framework by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on 6 October 2015, the ability for companies to transfer data from the EU to the US has been seriously undermined. On 2 February an agreement on a revised framework for international data was announced.