Brussels, BELGIUM — Today, the European Commission issued its report following the third annual review of the Privacy Shield and recommends the continuation of the agreement on the transfer of commercial data between the EU and the United States. Privacy Shield allows almost 5,000 companies to transfer data across the Atlantic. This year’s review was an opportunity for the European Commission, Data Protection Authorities, and the U.S. Government to take stock of the progress made over the past year and discuss areas for further improvement.
Since June, the US responded to previous requests by confirming a Privacy Shield Ombudsperson, a fully appointed PCLOB Board members and the FTC has actively enforced businesses compliance under the framework, settling multiple cases with companies that falsely claimed Privacy Shield certification.
The European Commission recognised several improvements since last year, including the appointment of Keith Krach as permanent Privacy Shield Ombudsperson and his appropriate handling of the first complaint received. The Commission is also asking the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce to improve some of their oversight and enforcement measures.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association has been a longtime advocate for frameworks for data transfers with strong data protection safeguards.
The following can be attributed to CCIA Europe Senior Manager Alexandre Roure:
“We are pleased with the European Commission’s assessment of the Privacy Shield framework. Privacy Shield remains a successful instrument for the protection of European citizens’ data and an essential tool for the safe transfer of commercial data between the two largest trading partners.”
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