EU and US start talks about ‘improved’ version of Privacy Shield

The European Commission and the US Department of Commerce say they have started talks for an ‘improved’ version of the Privacy Shield. This privacy agreement was declared a month ago by the European Court of Justice as contrary to the GDPR.

In a joint press release, the EC and the US Department write that “talks to evaluate the possibilities of an improved version of the Privacy Shield have started.” It is therefore unknown whether the parties are working on a successor to the privacy agreement, or whether they want to adjust the Privacy Shield to make it legally valid.

Both sides say they see the ‘vital importance’ of cross-border data transfers between the residents and economies of the EU and the US. At the same time, the two say data protection is also vital and there is a ‘commitment’ to privacy and the law.

In July, the European Court of Justice struck down the Privacy Shield because it would be in violation of the General Data Protection Regulation. Where, according to the Court, there is a transfer of personal data to a third country, the legal privacy protection in that country must be comparable to the degree of protection provided by European privacy law. In the United States, this would not be the case, partly because of the country’s surveillance programs.