Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, PRIVACY NEWS: EU Member States approve EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, (Jul 8, 2016)
Organizations Mentioned:U.S. Department of Commerce
By Greg Hammond, J.D.
The final version of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield has been approved by European Union Member States representatives today, paving the way for the European Commission (EC) to adopt the decision.
"The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield will ensure a high level of protection for individuals and legal certainty for business," stated Vice-President Ansip and Commissioner Jourová. "It is fundamentally different from the old ‘Safe Harbour’: It imposes clear and strong obligations on companies handling the data and makes sure that these rules are followed and enforced in practice."
Specifically, the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield imposes "stronger obligations on U.S. companies" to protect Europeans’ personal data, reflecting the requirements of the European Court of Justice, which previously ruled that the former Safe Harbour framework was invalid. The new framework calls for greater transparency, oversight mechanisms to ensure companies abide by the rules, sanctions or exclusion of companies if they do not comply, and tightened conditions for onward transfers.
In addition, "[f]or the first time, the U.S. has given the EU written assurance that the access of public authorities for law enforcement and national security will be subject to clear limitations, safeguards and oversight mechanisms and has ruled out indiscriminate mass surveillance of European citizens’ data," Ansip and Jourová said. "And last but not least, the Privacy Shield protects fundamental rights and provides for several accessible and affordable redress mechanisms."
The redress mechanisms include: (1) companies must reply to complaints from individuals within 45 days; (2) alternative dispute resolution, provided free of charge; (3) companies will work with the U.S. Department of Commerce and FTC to ensure unresolved complaints by EU citizens are investigated and swiftly resolved; and (4) an arbitration mechanism to ensure an enforceable decision.
News: Privacy