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Cybersecurity & Standards, European Policy, Government Surveillance, Privacy & Data

Passage of Judicial Redress Act a Small Victory for Global Privacy Rights

Today, the House of Representatives passed the Judicial Redress Act (JRA), which extends some protections in the Privacy Act to some non-US citizens. The JRA specifically addresses records shared by European Union and otherwise-designated countries with US government agencies for the purpose of investigating, detecting, or prosecuting criminal offenses. Enactment of the Judicial Redress Act would represent a modest step forward for the privacy rights of non-US persons.

“This is one of the few instances of the US Congress enhancing the privacy protections of non-Americans. While the Judicial Redress Act does not extend the full Privacy Act protections that US citizens receive to EU citizens, it is certainly positive progress in improving how very personal data is shared between the EU and US,” said Jens-Henrik Jeppesen, CDT Director of European Affairs.

CDT has previously called for full extension of Privacy Act rights to all non-US persons, and has previously written on how the JRA does not represent the full reform we are seeking.

The context of the JRA is the draft EU-US Umbrella Agreement. The agreement sets up a framework for protecting personal data that is transferred for law enforcement purposes, and includes data governance requirements similar to those laid out by the Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs).