Insights Second annual review of the EU US Privacy Shield gets underway and European Parliament calls for its suspension until the US complies

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Senior officials from the US Government, the European Commission and European Data Protection Authorities have met in Brussels to conduct the second annual review of the EU US Privacy Shield framework. The two days of detailed discussions were held to address all aspects of the functioning of the Privacy Shield.

A European Commission press statement says that since the inception of the Privacy Shield program in 2016, nearly 4,000 companies have made legally enforceable commitments to comply with the Privacy Shield framework. The significant growth of the programme last year highlights the Privacy Shield’s “vital importance to transatlantic data protection and commerce”.

On 5 July 2018, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution giving the US until 1 September 2018 to be fully compliant with the Privacy Shield. The deadline was not met. Accordingly, on 25 October 2018 the European Parliament urged the Commission to suspend the Privacy Shield until the US authorities comply with its terms. This call for suspension was made in a Resolution adopted by the European Parliament on 25 October on the use of Facebook users’ data by Cambridge Analytica and the impact on data protection.

Before the end of the year, the Commission will publish a report containing its findings following the second annual review on the functioning of the Privacy Shield. To read the Commission’s press statement, click here. To read the European Parliament’s Resolution of 25 October, click here.

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