Telcos Hope To Erode US Customer Privacy Protection But EU Privacy Shield Is Safe

Data protection regulators in the UK and Europe said this has no immediate effect on Europeans, since they were not previously protected by the US’ Privacy Act.

Instead, Privacy Shield relies on a US law called the EU-US Umbrella Agreement, due to come into effect on 1 February, which extends the US Privacy Act to Europeans and allows them access to US courts under the US Judicial Redress Act.

‘I need to be reassured’

Nevertheless, regulators said there was no certainty the Privacy Shield and the Umbrella Agreement would operate effectively under the new administration.

“I need to be reassured that Privacy Shield can remain,” said Vera Jourová, the EU commissioner in charge of data protection reform, in a statement. “I need to have reconfirmation that there is continuity.”

Jourová is due to travel to the US in the coming weeks as part of a joint annual review of the new data-sharing framework.

The European Commission said it is monitoring both of the legal instruments, while the ICO said it would “study” the effects of last week’s order.

“We will be studying the effect of this development and discussing it with other European regulators,” the ICO stated. “Businesses in Britain wanting to transfer data to the US should continue to use the Privacy Shield, or other approved schemes.”

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