The Article 29 Working Party has released opinions on Privacy Shield and “essential guarantees” under EU law relating to surveillance, here and here. Please join us in our webinar at 1 pm EDT today to learn more about the Article 29 Working Party’s opinion on Privacy Shield (register here). We will look at the opinion’s likely… Continue Reading
Safe Harbor
Subscribe to Safe Harbor RSS FeedKey EU Advisory Body Declines to Support Privacy Shield (Update)
Posted in EU Data Protection Regulation, European Union, Events and Webinars, Privacy Shield, Safe HarborUPDATE: The Article 29 Working Party has released surprisingly brief comments on Privacy Shield, available here. Consistent with the press briefing held earlier today (see below), WP29 has concluded that Privacy Shield falls short without providing specific guidance as to what, exactly, an acceptable version of Privacy Shield would look like. Earlier today, the Article 29… Continue Reading
Key Review of Privacy Shield Coming in Six Weeks
Posted in European Court of Justice, European Union, Privacy Shield, Safe Harbor, UncategorizedNow that the EU Commission has published the complete version of its draft decision adopting the EU-US Privacy Shield program, it’s time for the key reviewers to dig in. I don’t mean the lawyers, or EU privacy advocates, or US businesses, although their views will no doubt be wide-ranging and illuminating. But no, the really important… Continue Reading
EU-US Privacy Shield Agreement Published
Posted in EU Data Protection Regulation, European Court of Justice, European Union, Privacy Shield, Safe Harbor, UncategorizedThe European Commission has finally made the draft text of the EU-US Privacy Shield program available (scroll down in the press release for further links). The Privacy Shield program, which was agreed to in principle by US and EU negotiators nearly four weeks ago, will replace the Safe Harbor program that was struck down last autumn by the… Continue Reading
Judicial Redress Act passes the House with the Senate Amendments
Posted in European Union, Federal Trade Commission, Judicial Redress Act, Legislation, Privacy Shield, Safe Harbor, Umbrella Agreement, UncategorizedThe amended Judicial Redress Act has passed the House and is on its way to the president to be signed into law. The Act, which we covered in an earlier blog post, gives citizens of foreign countries the same rights as US citizens in connection with the use by the US government of their personal data,… Continue Reading
Amended version of Judicial Redress Act passes the Senate; now goes back to the House
Posted in European Union, Judicial Redress Act, Privacy Shield, Safe Harbor, Umbrella AgreementThe US Senate passed the amended version of the Judicial Redress Act on February 9. The amendments, which tie the Umbrella Agreement to Safe Harbor 2.0 (now dubbed the US-EU “Privacy Shield”), now go back to the House for approval. We discussed the amendments in an earlier blog looking at the intersection of security-related and commercial… Continue Reading
Commission Press Release and FTC Fact Sheet outlines the new EU-US “Privacy Shield”
Posted in European Court of Justice, European Union, Privacy Regulation, Privacy Shield, Safe HarborUpdate: The US Commerce Department has released a “fact sheet” on the new Privacy Shield agreement. The European Commission has issued a press release that gives an outline of some key changes to the EU-US safe harbor, now dubbed the “Privacy Shield.” The new accord still needs to be reviewed by the Article 29 Working… Continue Reading
Political Agreement Reached on US-EU Safe Harbor; Details “Hazy”
Posted in EU Data Protection Regulation, European Court of Justice, European Union, Safe HarborAccording to press reports, European Union and U.S. negotiators in Brussels finalized what is being called a “political agreement” on a new Safe Harbor transatlantic data transfer agreement. European Union justice commissioner Vera Jourová will present the agreement to the European Commission’s 28 commissioners today.
EU update: Safe Harbor 2.0 deadline passes without agreement; Art. 29 WP views on BCRs and model clauses expected tomorrow
Posted in European Union, Safe HarborNo news is not good news this time. The January 31 deadline for getting a new Safe Harbor Agreement in place came and went last weekend. Commissioner Jourova, who is leading the Safe Harbor 2.0 negotiations for the EU, reported on the negotiation’s status last evening to LIBE, the European Parliament committee that oversees privacy… Continue Reading
Running Aground in the Surveillance Safe Harbor - Podcast Available
Posted in EU Data Protection Regulation, European Court of Justice, European Union, Federal Trade Commission, Privacy Regulation, Safe HarborIf you would like to learn more about the politics and law behind the current Safe Harbor 2.0 negotiations, download the podcast of Running Aground in the Surveillance Safe Harbor, a teleforum hosted by the Federalist Society. The podcast features moderator Matthew R.A. Heiman, Vice President, Chief Compliance & Audit Officer, Tyco International; Stewart A. Baker, Partner, Steptoe &… Continue Reading
Tying it all together: Safe Harbor and Security-Related Data Flows
Posted in EU Data Protection Regulation, European Court of Justice, European Union, Federal Trade Commission, Safe HarborOne of the fascinating aspects of the privacy-related negotiations between the EU and the US over the past couple of years has been the EU’s efforts to decouple trade (e.g, TTIP) and security-related negotiations from the Safe Harbor 2.0 negotiations. The US Senate’s Judiciary Committee pushed back firmly on that yesterday when it adopted amendments… Continue Reading
(So) What if there’s no Safe Harbor 2.0?
Posted in Data Breach, Data Breach Notification, Data Compliance & Security, EDPS, Employee Privacy, EU Data Protection Regulation, European Court of Justice, European Union, Federal Trade Commission, Legislation, Privacy Regulation, Safe HarborThere’s no doubt businesses in the EU and US would breathe a sigh of relief if a new Safe Harbor agreement is put in place between before European data protection authorities start prosecuting companies for potentially illegal personal data transfers to the US. But if it doesn’t happen, the US is actually not any worse… Continue Reading
The EU Commission’s spin on the new General Data Protection Regulation
Posted in Data Breach, Data Breach Notification, Data Compliance & Security, EDPS, EU Data Protection Regulation, European Union, Events and Webinars, Safe Harbor, UncategorizedThe European Union Commission has issued a fact sheet on the new General Data Protection Regulation (final post-trilogue text available via Statewatch). The Commission claims that the Regulation is good for individuals and good for business. We’ll leave that to readers . . . and history . . . .to decide. As regulations go, the… Continue Reading
The General Data Protection Regulation in Bullet Points
Posted in Data Breach, Data Breach Notification, Data Compliance & Security, EDPS, Employee Privacy, EU Data Protection Regulation, European Union, Privacy Regulation, Safe Harbor, Security, Social MediaUpdated at 8:50 pm GMT on 16 December 2015. The new General Data Protection Regulation is effectively a “done deal” following the final trilogue meeting on December 15. One might assume based on UK media coverage that the biggest change in EU privacy law is that kids under 16 will need their parent’s consent to… Continue Reading
Webinar Postponed - Post-Safe Harbor Update for Life Sciences Companies
Posted in Safe HarborThe webinar on Post-Safe Harbor Update & Cross-Border Data Transfer Issues for Life Sciences Companies that was originally scheduled for today is being postponed and will take place after the holidays. We will announce a new date shortly.
Privacy Monday: November 9, 2015 - EU/Safe Harbor Updates
Posted in Employee Privacy, European Court of Justice, European Union, Privacy Monday, Safe HarborAnd the days dwindle down, to a precious few … November … We are still following developments in the EU relating to the invalidation of the US-EU Safe Harbor Framework. In case you were on a secluded island during the month of October, you can catch up here. European Commission Issues Communication. On Friday, the… Continue Reading
EU Round-UP: Safe Harbor 2.0 and Upcoming National Challenges
Posted in EU Data Protection Regulation, European Court of Justice, European Union, Privacy Regulation, Safe HarborEU Commissioner Vera Jourova recently announced in a speech to the EU Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) that the Commission and the US have made substantial progress in finalizing a new Safe Harbor program. Jourova noted that the collection and use of European personal data for US national security purposes… Continue Reading
More Dominos Fall on the Data Protection Table
Posted in EU Data Protection Regulation, European Court of Justice, European Union, Safe HarborAs all of our readers know by now, as of October 6, the US-EU Safe Harbor Framework is no more. Safe Harbor was the mechanism on which thousands of US companies (and thousands of companies based in the European Union) legitimized their data transfers from the EU to the US. All the background, including links to a… Continue Reading
Irish High Court Quashes Irish Data Protection Commission Original Schrems’ Decision
Posted in EU Data Protection Regulation, European Court of Justice, European Union, Safe HarborThe Irish High Court today has ordered the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) to investigate Facebook’s European data privacy practices, bringing Max Schrems’ three-year fight full circle. The Court today quashed the original DPC refusal to examine Schrems’ complaint that came back to the High Court after the referral to the European Court of Justice… Continue Reading
EU Data Protection Authorities Issue Joint Statement on Invalidation of Safe Harbor: Not Much Help Here
Posted in European Court of Justice, European Union, Safe HarborThe so-called “Article 29 Working Party” of EU Data protection officials from the 28 EU member states today released a much-anticipated press release regarding the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) landmark decision invalidating the US-EU Safe Harbor framework. US companies hoping for some guidance on managing cross-border data transfers will be sorely disappointed…. Continue Reading
EU Parliament Committee calls on the Commission for immediate action on US data transfers
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, EU Data Protection Regulation, European Court of Justice, European Union, Legislation, Safe Harbor, Social MediaThe EU Parliament committee that is charged with considering data protection matters (LIBE) has issued a press release calling on the European Commission to take action before the end of 2015 to come up with alternatives to Safe Harbor. Importantly, LIBE has also called on the Commission to reassess whether the European Court of Justice’s… Continue Reading
REMINDER: Webinar TODAY — EU-US Safe Harbor Program and the Court of Justice of the EU’s Decision — Protect Your Business!
Posted in European Court of Justice, European Union, Events and Webinars, Safe HarborDon’t forget to join us this afternoon - Wednesday - at 3 PM ET for a webinar discussion of the European Court of Justice’s game changing decision invalidating the US-EU Safe Harbor framework. What’s next? What should be your Plan B? Registration is here.
Safe Harbor Invalidated – What’s Next on the Chopping Block?
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Employee Privacy, EU Data Protection Regulation, European Court of Justice, European Union, Privacy Regulation, Safe Harbor, Social MediaAs I reported earlier today, the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) has declared Safe Harbor invalid. The full decision is now available online in English here (other languages also available at curia.europa.eu by searching on C-362/14). There are two key elements of the ECJ’s decision. The first is that national data protection… Continue Reading
EU Top Court Invalidates Safe Harbor and Sends Facebook Case Back to Irish Data Protection Authority
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, EU Data Protection Regulation, European Court of Justice, European Union, Federal Trade Commission, Privacy Regulation, Safe Harbor, Social MediaUPDATE: Here’s a link to the English-language version of the ECJ’s full decision: Schrems Safe Harbor Decision A press release issued by the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) regarding its decision in the Schrems Safe Harbor case (C-362/14) confirms that the ECJ has declared Safe Harbor invalid. The ECJ has sent the case back… Continue Reading
