“Data migration between the US and the EU is becoming a growing problem”

Persistent uncertainty over how data migration between the United States and the European Union can proceed under the appropriate laws and regulations is a growing problem for many businesses. This is what the American economic newspaper Wall Street Journal affirms in a recent article.

According to the economic newspaper More and more companies are wondering how they can transfer their data between the US and the EU in the near future without too many problems, but within the various compliance rules. In particular, these companies, mostly American, are wondering to what extent the stricter European regulations on data privacy will limit their activities in the EU.

Stricter European legislation

Over the past year, the EU has introduced more stringent regulations that prohibit some companies from using US technology companies to store and process data. This should guarantee the privacy of the inhabitants of the 27 Member States. The Wall Street Journal finds that these regulations add an additional layer of confusion around data traffic between the US and the EU.

The crux of the matter is that neither the US nor the EU have yet negotiated a successor to the Privacy Shield agreement. Privacy Shield was a 2016 agreement on the protection of personal data of citizens of the European Union processed in the United States.

In mid-2020, this agreement was approved by the Court of Justice of the EU, the highest European court, canceled. The rules agreed in the Privacy Shield for the exchange of data and in particular the processing between the US and the EU would not comply with the GDPR regulations.

Part of the reason is that US authorities could still request this data, despite the fact that European data was stored in the EU. According to the European Court of Justice, European privacy law remains the norm if the data is used in any way in other countries.

Successor Privacy Shield is not available

The US and the EU have since negotiated a successor, but to no avail. Although it is known that such legal proceedings take a long time, the US business newspaper believes that it is now posing more and more problems for companies.

Additionally, the Wall Street Journal says that in the absence of clear (privacy) legislation, successive European regulations mean that US tech companies are increasingly unable to provide their services in the EU. Over the past year, many agencies in EU countries have canceled their services in technology companies, as it has been determined that the transfer of data to these companies does not comply with the laws and regulations of the ‘EU.

The business newspaper therefore calls for more clarity on when the US and EU will reach a new deal. Otherwise, more companies, especially Americans, will still have problems with their activities in the EU.