Legal Disclaimer
You are responsible for reading, understanding and agreeing to the National Law Review s (NLR’s) and the National Law Forum LLC s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy before using the National Law Review website. The National Law Review is a free to use, no-log in database of legal and business articles. The content and links on www.NatLawReview.com are intended for general information purposes only. Any legal analysis, legislative updates or other content and links should not be construed as legal or professional advice or a substitute for such advice. No attorney-client or confidential relationship is formed by the transmission of information between you and the National Law Review website or any of the law firms, attorneys or other professionals or organizations who include content on the National Law Review website. If you require legal or professional advice, kindly contact an attorney or other suitable professional advisor.
Lessons from a Privacy Shield post-mortem on Capitol Hill
A man looks at data on his mobile as background with crowd of people walking is projected in this picture. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo
On December 9, the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing on the consequences of the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) invalidation of the EU-US Privacy Shield, the main vehicle to allow transfers of data from the European Union (EU) to the United States and on the uncertain future of transatlantic data flows. The event lacked the passion and publicity of pre-election Congressional inquisitions of US technology company leaders on competition and content regulation. But the sober, factual, and concerned tone of the proceedings illuminated the deepening transatlantic divide over data transfers, and it highlighted the early challenge the subject looks to pose for President-elect Joe Biden’s administration, which is eager to repair US-EU
[co-author: Taylor Daly]
On Wednesday, December 9, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee held a hearing titled “The Invalidation of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield and the Future of Transatlantic Data Flows.” During the hearing, both Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA) underscored the need to assess how United States businesses can confidently conduct data transfers in compliance with EU laws as negotiations continue to replace the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield agreement.
The hearing included testimony from James Sullivan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Services at the International Trade Administration (ITA), who indicated that all teams in the ITA’s Office of Digital Services Industries have met, on multiple occasions, with members of the Biden-Harris transition team, and have prepared a transition memorandum on the state of play around the Privacy Shield. Peter Swire of the Cross-Border Data Forum emphasized the need to negotiate a