The European Court of Justice ruled today that certain data transfers from the EU to the US are illegal under current EU law. “The need for action on both sides is now. The US must give additional assurances as to how they deal with European personal data. And the European Commission must now clarify the legal situation in order to give legal certainty to businesses, scientists and consumers”, said Axel Voss MEP, EPP Group Spokesman on Legal Affairs.
“Particularly now during the Corona crisis, an unimpeded flow of data across the Atlantic is vital for the survival of our European business and research programmes. European consumers must also be sure that their data is protected in the US”, he stressed.
Today’s ruling is based on a complaint regarding the fact that Facebook in the US is obliged to make its users’ data available to US authorities such as the NSA and the FBI. Already back in 2015, the European Court of Justice declared the previous EU-US data protection agreement, the so-called Safe Harbour Regulation, invalid because it did not sufficiently protect the data of European citizens from access by US authorities.
