Cybersecurity & Standards, European Policy, Government Surveillance
Top E.U. court strikes down major data sharing pact between U.S. and Europe
Washington Post:
In a decision that will reverberate across the U.S. tech sector, the European Court of Justice on Tuesday struck down a transatlantic agreement that enables companies to transfer data from Europe to the United States, finding that European data is not sufficiently protected in the United States.
The ruling will affect more than 4,400 companies that rely on the agreement to move data back and forth across the Atlantic to support trade, jobs and the digital economy. It could also have a huge implications for U.S. intelligence agencies, which depend on an ability to sift through large volumes of data in search of clues to disrupt terrorist plots.
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“Today’s ruling shows the need to step up reforms of government surveillance practices. There is a clear need for the U.S. and Europe to set clear, lawful and proportionate standards and safeguards for conducting surveillance for national security purposes,” said Jens Henrik-Jeppesen, director of European Affairs for the Center for Democracy and Technology. “The invalidation of the Safe Harbour agreement should spur governments on both sides of the Atlantic to ratchet up long-overdue reform efforts.”
