EU-US Privacy Shield Update

In recent days, there has been an uptick in discussion regarding the potential fate of the EU-US Privacy Shield. Some of the discussion has been spurred by Cam Kerry’s recent analysis of several critical weaknesses of the EU-US Privacy Shield, which is now under review by the European Commission. The other impetus for discussion is via the Article 29 WP, which has issued a new press release June 13 with more details about its review of the Privacy Shield agreement, as well as fresh concerns.

This February, WPF published an in-depth legal analysis of the EU-US Privacy Shield, which concluded that it was highly likely that the agreement was fatally undermined by a Trump Administration executive order. Of course, the analysis that will matter the most will be that which the Europeans publish at the conclusion of their review, which is slated for September 2017.

Here is a roundup of Cam Kerry’s analysis, our analysis, and more information about the EU review and the Privacy Shield:

Lawfare:  Trump Puts EU US Privacy Shield at Risk, Cam Kerry, published June 12, 2017

World Privacy Forum:  Redress Revisited: Has the Privacy Shield Agreement Between the U.S. and the EU Been Fatally Undermined by President Trump’s Executive Order 13768?  Robert Gellman, published February 24, 2017.

World Privacy Forum:  EU-US Privacy Shield, Winners and Losers  Robert Gellman and Pam Dixon, published April 6, 2016.

Article 29 WP: Preparation of the Privacy Shield Annual Joint Review,  June 13, 2017.

European Commission: Statement by Commissioner Vera Jourova of the European Parliament consent vote on the conclusion of the EU-US data protection Umbrella Agreement”, January 12, 2016.

European Commission: Restoring trust in transatlantic data flows through strong safeguards: European Commission presents EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, February 29, 2016.

IAPP: We read Privacy Shield so you don’t have to, (open access) and  IAPP Resource Center, EU US Privacy Shield, varied dates (membership required).