President Biden has signed a decree establishing a framework for the transfer of data between the European Union and the United States.
The decree strengthens the protection of privacy in the transfer of data between the United States and Europe. It responds to long-standing concerns about U.S. surveillance practices, which have led to a number of notable legal disputes.
It also aims to end the predicament faced by thousands of companies after Europe’s highest court rejected two previous treaties over concerns about U.S. surveillance.
The order provides for new safeguards for the collection of information by the U.S. intelligence agencies, requiring them to do only what is appropriate and relevant, and introduces a two-tier system of redress, first to an intelligence agency watchdog, then to a court with independent judges whose decisions would bind the agencies.
In March, Biden and European Union leaders reached a preliminary agreement on the order, which promised to extend the collection of Europeans’ personal data by U.S. intelligence agencies to include additional controls and allow them to appeal if their data was illegally intercepted.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the executive order “is the culmination of our joint effort to restore trust and stability to transatlantic data flows” and “will ensure the privacy of EU personal data.”
Meanwhile, European privacy advocates are threatening legal action if the framework does not protect privacy sufficiently.
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.