The EU And US Agree To A Transatlantic Data Deal Amid Major Criticism!

In today’s globalized world, every corporation and business collect data from their customers. #NothingNewHere

Such personal data needs strong regulation and laws to avoid exploitation or unfair practices. Hence, regulators need to adapt to changing data technologies and modern requirements.

With this in mind, the European Commission recently announced a new data agreement with the US government which clarified years of legal uncertainties. The new deal will enable businesses to transfer the personal data of European citizens to US-based servers and vice versa.

Reportedly, the new EU-US Data Privacy Framework (agreed in principle in 2022) builds upon the previous data guidelines through an executive order signed by President Joe Biden which restricted the US Intelligence’s access to personal information from Europe.

Speaking about the “adequacy decision”, EU President Ursula von der Leyen said, “Today we take an important step to provide trust to citizens that their data is safe, to deepen our economic ties between the EU and the US, and at the same time to reaffirm our shared values … It shows that by working together, we can address the most complex issues.”

The Director-General of DIGITALEUROPE, a leading trade association with members like Airbus, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and more, Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, said the “Data flows underpin the EU's annual 1 trillion euros of service exports to the United States, and this decision will give companies more confidence to conduct business and help our economies to grow."


However, not everyone is happy with this agreement, with many privacy activists criticizing the framework.

The criticisms were led by NOYB (styled noyb), a non-profit group, along with its founder, Max Schrems, who said the latest revision was inadequate and plans to challenge it.

Schrems said, “Just announcing that something is 'new,' 'robust' or 'effective' does not cut it before the Court of Justice. We would need changes in U.S. surveillance law to make this work," and added, "We have various options for a challenge already in the drawer, although we are sick and tired of this legal ping-pong. We currently expect this to be back at the Court of Justice by the beginning of next year."

Schrems even pointed out the new framework was similar to the previous agreement called “Privacy Shield”, which was scrubbed in 2020 by the European Court of Justice after challenges from various privacy activists, including Schrems. Interestingly, the previous two deals which were challenged and cancelled are referred to as "Schrems I" and "Schrems II"! #Trivia


Reportedly, earlier this year, the European Data Protection Board also chimed in saying the latest agreement was insufficient and appealed for more work to be done. This comes in stark contrast to the reactions surrounding the recent Data Act passed by the EU (read here).

What do you think of the US-EU agreement? Is the criticism valid? Let us know in the comments below!