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 relations.