The head of the EU Commission and the US president said on Friday that the European Union and the United States had reached a preliminary agreement to avoid major impediments to the flow of transatlantic data that had been jeopardized by a ruling by the EU Supreme Court.
Data transfers between the EU and the United States have been at risk of major disruptions since a ruling by the EU Court of Justice in 2020 that overturned an earlier measure aimed at balancing EU privacy concerns with US surveillance systems.
“Today, we agree on unprecedented security for the privacy and security of data for citizens,” Joe Biden told a joint news conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels.
“I am delighted that we have reached an agreement in principle on a new framework for transatlantic data flow,” said Von der Leyen. “This will enable predictable and reliable data flow between the EU and the United States, protecting privacy and civil liberties,” he added without elaborating.
Data privacy advocates have said they will study the deal. “It will take more time for the final text to come. We will analyze it in depth with our US legal experts once it arrives. If it does not comply with EU law, we or other groups will probably challenge it,” said activist Max Schreims. .
Thomson Reuters 2022