United States and European Commission Announce Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework

The United States and the European Commission have committed to a new Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework, which will foster trans-Atlantic data flows and address the concerns raised by the Court of Justice of the European Union when it struck down in 2020 the Commission’s adequacy decision underlying the EU-US Privacy Shield framework. By ensuring a durable and reliable legal basis for data flows, the new framework will underpin an inclusive and competitive digital economy and lay the foundation for further economic cooperation. Through the framework, the US makes commitments to:

• Strengthen the privacy and civil liberties safeguards governing US signals intelligence activities;
• Establish a new redress mechanism with independent and binding authority; and
• Enhance its existing rigorous and layered oversight of signals intelligence activities.