|
The
previous such framework, Safe Harbour, was struck down by the
EU's top court last October on the grounds that it allowed U.S.
agents too much access to Europeans' data.
The new EU-U.S. Privacy Shield will allow companies to transfer
personal data from the EU to the United States - from human
resources information to individual browsing histories to hotel
bookings.
Since Safe Harbour was struck down, thousands of companies
including Alphabet Inc's Google <GOOGL.O> and Microsoft <MSFT.O>,
have been mired in legal limbo, forcing them to rely on more
cumbersome mechanisms for legally transferring Europeans' data
to the United States.
Revelations three years ago from former U.S. intelligence
contractor Edward Snowden of mass U.S. surveillance practices
caused political outrage in Europe and stoked mistrust of big
U.S. tech companies.
The chair of the group of 28 EU data protection authorities said
on Tuesday that the regulators would not launch any challenges
to the new Privacy Shield until it has gone through its first
annual review, expected sometime next summer.
"The first joint review will be a time in which we will make an
evaluation of the Privacy Shield and also a time where
additional propositions could be made (by the U.S. government),"
Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, who heads the French data protection
authority, told reporters.
Falque-Pierrotin said the regulators still wanted evidence from
the U.S. government that its commitment to not conduct mass and
indiscriminate surveillance would be met.
The powers and independence of a new U.S. privacy ombudsperson
who will deal with complaints from EU citizens about U.S.
surveillance practices could also be strengthened,
Falque-Pierrotin said.
She added that the regulators would have to investigate any
complaints from individuals about the functioning of the
framework but these would be "a case by case analysis."
Falque-Pierrotin said that the legality of the other mechanisms
firms have been using in the meantime, so-called standard
contractual clauses which establish privacy protections between
groups and binding corporate rules would also be assessed after
the first joint review of the Privacy Shield.
"If the situation is considered as OK at the first annual review
on the public security side, it is going to have an impact also
on the other transfer tools by reaffirming their legal
robustness," she said.
EU data protection authorities had demanded improvements to the
Privacy Shield in April, forcing EU and U.S. officials back to
the negotiating table to strengthen the privacy protections in
the framework.
(Reporting by Julia Fioretti; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
