Brussels, Belgium — The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, the new framework for transatlantic data transfers, was adopted in Brussels today after EU Member States approved it last week. Privacy Shield was unveiled by European Justice Commissioner, Věra Jourová and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.
The European Commission has in its recent negotiations obtained a number of additional safeguards to address the concerns of the “Safe Harbour ruling”, the European Data Protection Authorities and the European Parliament. Privacy Shield specifically introduces the independent U.S. ombudsperson to handle Europeans’ possible complaints. This role will importantly also apply to other EU-U.S. data transfer mechanisms such as Standard Contractual Clauses.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association has been a longtime advocate for stronger privacy safeguards for data transfers and we welcome Privacy Shield.
The following can be attributed to CCIA Europe Director, Christian Borggreen:
“Privacy Shield sets a high standard for EU-U.S. data transfers. It is a major privacy win for consumers and provides legal clarity for thousands of European and U.S. firms.”
“European companies depend on clear rules for international data transfers to serve their customers.”