US slams Europe over Facebook privacy controversy

The United States Mission to the European Union backed Facebook in its battle against the EU, accusing Europe's top court of making "inaccurate assertions" about America's intelligence services.

The US Mission slammed the court for questioning a crucial data sharing agreement between the US and EU. The US Mission slammed the court for questioning a crucial data sharing agreement between the US and EU. The deal, called "Safe Harbor Framework," makes it possible for thousands of US companies, including tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon. to transfer private data from the EU to their servers in the US. But the top legal adviser to European Court of Justice suggested the deal is no longer valid because of allegations of "mass, indiscriminate surveillance" by US intelligence services. The US hit back Sept 28, saying the claims are "simply not the case." The court's opinion is part of an ongoing case against Facebook, which was brought by Austrian law student Max Schrems. He said he was uncomfortable with the way Facebook transfers his personal data to the US, where it can be accessed by authorities with little respect for his privacy. Schrems was prompted to file his case by revelations in the case of Wikileaks whistleblower Edward Snowden.