Europe takes another step towards a data exchange agreement with the United States

In the draft decision, the EU approves the measures drawn up by the United States concerning the protection of personal data. Although the preliminary design immediately met with opposition.

The exchange of personal data between Europe and the United States has been a thorny issue for years. In 2015, Austrian Max Schrems sounded the alarm when he sued Facebook for illegally sending information about Europeans to the United States. Since then, the European Union has been working on comprehensive legislation. Signed early October President Biden an American decree which stipulates that access to personal data from Europe for American companies is limited to what is strictly necessary.

Consultation of the file

The White House proposal calls for US law enforcement to request data from US-based tech companies, regardless of where that data is located. There, in particular, the proposal is meeting resistance and, according to insiders, it does not comply with EU confidentiality rules. However, both sides, the EU and the US, had one earlier this year agreement in principle infringement on transatlantic data transfers.

To further meet Europe’s expectations, the US government has updated the proposal. The new executive decree gives EU citizens the possibility to appeal to an independent and impartial appeal mechanism. This way, they gain insight into the collection and use of their data by US intelligence services.

Insufficient protection

The fact that the United States provides for an appeal procedure in the new draft through the Court of Data Protection Review makes little impression on opponents of the agreement. Max Schrems’ noyb interest group has already indicated that the deal fails to meet legal requirements set by the European Court of Justice. This Court said in July 2020 the so-called Privacy Shield with the United States sucks.

“Since the draft decision is based on the well-known enforcement decision, I don’t see how it can survive an appeal to the Court of Justice,” Max Schrems said in a statement. statement. “It seems that the European Commission is constantly renewing the same decisions, in flagrant violation of our fundamental rights.

Noyb argues that the opinions of European Data Protection Board EDPB and Member States do not bind the Commission. “Once the decision is published, European companies can rely on it when sending data to the United States. The final decision will not be made until spring 2023. From then on, organizations and individuals will be able to challenge the decision in national and European courts,” concludes Schrems.