Tag: Safe Harbor

EDPS considers Privacy Shield replacement unlikely for a while

18. December 2020

The data transfer agreements between the EU and the USA, namely Safe Harbor and its successor Privacy Shield, have suffered a hard fate for years. Both have been declared invalid by the European Court of Justice (CJEU) in the course of proceedings initiated by Austrian lawyer and privacy activist Max Schrems against Facebook. In either case, the court came to the conclusion that the agreements did not meet the requirements to guarantee equivalent data protection standards and thus violated Europeans’ fundamental rights due to data transfer to US law enforcement agencies enabled by US surveillance laws.

The judgement marking the end of the EU-US Privacy Shield (“Schrems II”) has a huge impact on EU companies doing business with the USA, which are now expected to rely on Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs). However, the CJEU tightened the requirements for the SCCs. When using them in the future, companies have to determine whether there is an adequate level of data protection in the third country. Therefore, in particular cases, there may need to be taken additional measures to ensure a level of protection that is essentially the same as in the EU.

Despite this, companies were hoping for a new transatlantic data transfer pact. Though, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) Wojciech Wiewiórowski expressed doubts on an agreement in the near future:

I don’t expect a new solution instead of Privacy Shield in the space of weeks, and probably not even months, and so we have to be ready that the system without a Privacy Shield like solution will last for a while.

He justified his skepticism with the incoming Biden administration, since it may have other priorities than possible changes in the American national security laws. An agreement upon a new data transfer mechanism would admittedly depend on leveling US national security laws with EU fundamental rights.

With that in mind, the EU does not remain inactive. It is also trying to devise different ways to maintain its data transfers with the rest of the world. In this regard, the EDPS appreciated European Commission’s proposed revisions to SCCs, which take into consideration the provisions laid down in CJEU’s judgement “Schrems II”.

The proposed Standard Contractual Clauses look very promising and they are already introducing many thoughts given by the data protection authorities.

Advocate General’s opinion on “Schrems II” is delayed

11. December 2019

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) Advocate General’s opinion in the case C-311/18 (‘Facebook Ireland and Schrems’) will be released on December 19, 2019. Originally, the CJEU announced that the opinion of the Advocate General in this case, Henrik Saugmandsgaard Øe, would be released on December 12, 2019. The CJEU did not provide a reason for this delay.

The prominent case deals with the complaint to the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) by privacy activist and lawyer Maximilian Schrems and the transfer of his personal data from Facebook Ireland Ltd. to Facebook Inc. in the U.S. under the European Commission’s controller-to-processor Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs).

Perhaps, the most consequential question that the High Court of Ireland set before the CJEU is whether the transfers of personal data from the EU to the U.S. under the SCCs violate the rights of the individuals under Articles 7 and/or 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Question No. 4). The decision of the CJEU in “Schrems II” will also have ramifications on the parallel case T-738/16 (‘La Quadrature du net and others’). The latter case poses the question whether the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield for data transfers from the EU to the U.S. protects the rights of EU individuals sufficiently. If it does not, the European Commission would face a “Safe Harbor”-déjà vu after approving of the new Privacy Shield in its adequacy decision from 2016.

The CJEU is not bound to the opinion of the Advocate General (AG), but in some cases, the AG’s opinion may be a weighty indicator of the CJEU’s final ruling. The final decision by the Court is expected in early 2020.

Trump’s Executive Order Impact on the Privacy Shield

8. February 2017

Background

The Court of Justice of the European Union has invalidated the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor framework (October 2015), which was replaced by the Privacy Shield on 12 July 2016.

Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States” (Executive Order) was issued by the US President Donald Trump on 25th January 2017. This act’s main aim was the immigration laws enforcement in the U.S.

In its Section 14 we may read: “Agencies shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law, ensure that their privacy policies exclude persons who are not United States citizens or lawful permanent residents from the protections of the Privacy Act regarding personally identifiable information.”

The so-called “Umbrella Agreement” (signed on 2nd December 2016) between the U.S. and EU, ensured the personal data transfers for law enforcement purposes. This agreement applies also to the pre-existing agreements between the U.S. and EU along with the various Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (“MLATs”), Passenger Name Records Agreement, and Safe Harbor framework.

Part 19 of the Umbrella Agreement enables every European citizen to seek judicial review in case of an unlawfully disclosure individual’s personal data or denial of the right to access or amend the personal data in agency’s possession.

Before the Umbrella Agreement, there was no such legal possibility, although the Privacy Act of 1974 extended those rights to permanent residents of the U.S. and its citizens. EU would only agree with the Umbrella Agreement once U.S. extends protections to the European citizens under the Privacy Act, so that the U.S. is expected to comply with the Umbrellas Agreement Art. 19.

Moreover, in February 2016 the Judicial Redress Act was passed as the U.S. and EU got along with each other, which extended protections of the Privacy Act (disclosure, access, amendment) to citizens of “covered countries’’ (as named in the Judicial Redress Act).

On 17th of January 2017 Loretta Lynch (new former U.S. Attorney General) designated “covered jurisdictions’’ (as named in the Judicial Redress act) to include in the Judicial Redress Act all the EU Members apart from Denmark and the UK, which has become effective on 1st February.

The Attorneys General designation however, is not subject to administrative or judicial review (within the Judicial Redress Act).

Conclusion

Donald Trump’s Executive Order is believed not to affect the Judicial Redress Act (which is applicable law in the context of data transfers for law enforcement purposes) in terms of the Privacy Act rights to the European citizens extension, so as to say that the Executive Order should not impact Privacy Shield Framework’s legal viability.

Unresolved is still an aspect of “covered countries’’ designation, as the Judicial Redress Act includes a “covered countries’’ designations removal process, which is still subject of a dispute.

Statement of the WP29 on the “EU – U.S. Privacy Shield”

4. February 2016

After the Press Conference held by Věra Jourová and Andrus Ansip from the European Commission about the proposal for a new agreement between EU and U.S. to carry out international data transfers, the WP29 met on the 2-3 February in order to discuss the consequences of the sentence from the ECJ and the future of international data transfers between EU and the U.S.

The WP29 has remarked that the following four guarantees should be ensured when international data transfers take place:

a) Transparency: the data subject whose data is processed should be informed so that he/she is able to foreseen the consequences of the data transfer.

b) Proportionality and necessity: the finality for which personal data is collected and accessed and the rights of the data subject should be balanced.

c) Independency of a control body that carries out checks in an effective and impartial manner.

d) Effective remedies: the individual should have the possibility to defend his/her rights before an independent body.

The WP29 will also analyze the existing mechanisms to carry out international data transfers, which currently can only take place if Standard Contractual Clauses or Binding Corporate Rules (BCR) are used. In any case, European DPAs will examine data transfers on a case-by-case basis.

However, the WP29 is still looking forward to receive the relevant documents related to the EU – U.S. Privacy Shield in order to analyze its content and to determine to which extent the agreement is legally binding.

 

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The “EU – U.S. Privacy Shield”, a new agreement for international data transfers

3. February 2016

After continuous negotiations during the last months to agree on a new framework for international data transfers, since the ECJ invalidated the Safe Harbor Decision, Andrus Ansip (EU Commission Vice-President) and Věra Jourová (Commissioner) announced yesterday in a Press Conference that a new agreement (EU – U.S. Privacy Shield) to carry out international data transfers has been reached.

Under the EU – U.S. Privacy Shield, the following elements will be regulated:

  • Several redress possibilities will be guaranteed to EU citizens when data transfers to U.S. take place and companies, as first redress possibility, will have deadlines to resolve complaints.
  • The resolution includes a “multi-layered” approach in order to avoid that any complaints remain unresolved by offering different resolution mechanisms. Also the European DPAs will have the possibility to refer complaints to the U.S. Department of Commerce and to the Federal Trade Commission.
  • Companies will be subject to strong obligations regarding the processing of personal data imported from EU Member States. Particularly, personal data processed for HR purposes in the U.S. will have to comply with the decisions of EU DPAs.
  • It will be ensured that national authorities only have access to personal data from EU citizens in exceptional cases and subject to the principles of necessity and proportionality.
  • The figure of the “ombudsman” will be created, in order to make possible that EU citizens can complain regarding surveillance activities by national authorities.

This new framework should be reviewed in an annual basis, so that the rights of EU citizens regarding data protection are continuously ensured. This is an important step forward in comparison with the invalidated Safe Harbor Decision.

Although the main points of this agreement have been discussed, the written draft may take up to three months, as Commissioner Věra Jourová said. The Working Party 29 will advise the College of Commissioners on this issue before adopting the official decision. Additionally, the agreement will have to withstand scrutiny from the ECJ.

Proposal to create a U.S. privacy “ombudsman” to verify Safe Harbor compliance

26. January 2016

In a context where the Safe Harbor Decision has been declared invalid and the General Data Protection Regulation has entered into force, the European and American competent authorities are negotiating further mechanisms to carry out international data transfers in compliance with the current legislation.

According to Reuters, the U.S. has proposed creating the institution of the “ombudsman” as a component of the State Department. This institution shall handle with complaints from EU citizens regarding surveillance activities from American authorities,.verify that this surveillance activities are proportionate and that personal data transferred from the EU is accessed only in cases where national security is involved. However, EU negotiators have requested further details about this institution before the proposal is accepted.

Both negotiating parties, EU and U.S. authorities aim at reaching an agreement about the continuity and the legal basis to carry out data transfers to the U.S. by the beginning of February.