Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, PRIVACY NEWS: Ramirez affirms FTC support for new Privacy Shield Framework enforcement, (Feb 29, 2016)
Organizations Mentioned:U.S. Department of Commerce
By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.
FTC Commissioner Edith Ramirez has vowed to make the new EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework a high priority of the agency and to work with its European counterparts to provide privacy and data security protections for consumers in the United States and Europe. Ramirez described the new framework, released today in Brussels, Belgium, as supporting a growing global digital economy by providing a legal mechanism for transatlantic data transfers, while ensuring the protection of consumers’ personal information.
In a letter to European Union (EU) Commissioner Věra Jourová, Ramirez noted that strong law enforcement and increased cooperation will be critical to the new framework’s success, and the FTC will play a significant role in enforcing commercial privacy promises under the framework.
According to Ramirez, the FTC first publicly expressed its commitment to enforce the Safe Harbor program in 2000. After the European Court of Justice issued a decision to invalidate the European Commission’s decision on the adequacy of the Safe Harbor program, the FTC worked closely with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the EC in an effort to strengthen the privacy protections given to EU citizens. The Privacy Shield Framework was a result of those consultations.
In the letter, Ramirez also affirmed the FTC’s commitment in the areas of referral prioritization and investigations, addressing false or deceptive Privacy Shield membership claims, continued order monitoring, and enhanced engagement and enforcement cooperation with EU Data Protection Authorities.
The framework will play a critical role in facilitating privacy-protective commercial transactions in an increasingly interconnected world. The framework also will enable business to conduct important operations in the global economy, while ensuring that EU consumers retain important privacy protections, Ramirez concluded.
News: ConsumerProtection Privacy FederalTradeCommissionNews