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American and European Union leaders said on Friday they had reached an “agreement in principle” to ensure that the transfer of personal data across the Atlantic was lawful, after a previous agreement was revoked after a court found it did not provide adequate protection. Europeans from American surveillance programs.
President Biden said at a press conference in Brussels that the deal includes “unprecedented protections for data privacy and security for our citizens.” However, the details of the new agreement were not disclosed. A European court invalid Partly because the previous legal framework for data transfers did not provide Europeans with adequate means to complain when they believe their privacy rights have been violated.
Businesses sending European Union data to American servers forced governments to come to a new agreement. Since the last deal was canceled more than 18 months ago, regulators in European countries have said companies cannot use certain web services such as Google Analytics and Mailchimp because doing so would violate Europeans’ privacy rights.
Facebook’s parent company, Meta, said earlier this year that it could shut down its services in Europe if governments did not resolve their differences. Google’s top lawyer urged “to act quickly to restore a practical framework that both protects privacy and promotes well-being.”
Friday’s announcement is the latest in a long debate about how far governments and tech companies should go to protect users’ privacy. Europe’s highest court has twice canceled agreements governing transatlantic data flows between the United States and the European Union over concerns that data would be exposed to American surveillance programs.
“With growing concern about the fragmentation of the global internet, this deal will help people stay connected and services run,” said Nick Clegg, Meta’s head of global affairs. “It will provide invaluable certainty for American and European companies of all sizes, including Meta, that rely on transferring data quickly and securely.”
However, it was unclear whether the new agreement would be enough to quell privacy campaigners’ concerns. Max Schrems, an activist whose group called the Noyb group (“it’s none of your business”) is leading efforts to void transatlantic agreements, said in a statement that he was skeptical of the deal and that his organization would carefully analyze the details.
“If it doesn’t comply with EU law, we or another group will probably object to it,” he said.
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