ex post judicial oversight by the [US Data Protection Review Court],” the judgment said.A key issue is whether the agreement achieves ‘adequacy’, the extent to which US laws offer the same level of protection as EU equivalents.”Today’s EU General Court judgement will bring relief and reassurance to the thousands of US companies and their European partners that rely on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework for transatlantic and global business,” commented Caitlin Fennessy, chief knowledge officer for the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), a US trade organization.”This ruling will be seen as a major victory for the US-EU transatlantic data flows and trade as well as a positive sign for the framework’s longevity. In this fraught geopolitical moment, EU and US officials will undoubtedly welcome the news,” said Fennessy. However, she believed there might still be room for an appeal to test the issue of adequacy.This caveat was echoed by Chris Linnell, associate director of data privacy at consultancy Bridewell, who noted the Commission’s weak record of being able to get its agreements with the US past courts in the EU.”It’s worth remembering that both Safe Harbour and Privacy Shield fell under legal challenge on similar grounds, and campaigners have already signaled that further appeals are likely. That means the framework may not be the last word in EU-US data transfers,” he said.
Does an agreement with the US make that much difference?: Without this agreement, EU companies would have to draft complex contracts with US suppliers imposing restrictions on data processing and handling. Requiring agreements for each transfer, this would be expensive and time consuming, assuming it even met watertight legal standards under real-world conditions.Companies would love to move on from this confusing situation, yet it might still be too soon to celebrate the ruling. Max Schrems, the lawyer who lodged the initial complaint, still campaigns on the issue through an NGO he founded, None of Your Business (NOYB). He believed the Court’s ruling was still open to appeal.”This was a rather narrow challenge. We are convinced that a broader review of US law, especially the use of Executive Orders by the Trump administration, should yield a different result,” he said in a NOYB statement.”We are reviewing our options to bring such a challenge. While the Commission may have gained another year, we still lack any legal certainty for users and businesses,” said Schrems.
First seen on csoonline.com
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