massive and indiscriminate surveillance Archives

Safe Harbor Update: European Commission Reaffirms Commitment to a Safe Harbor Sequel

by Amy C. Pimentel | Nov 6, 2015 | Data Privacy, Data Transfers/Safe Harbor/Privacy Shield

As we reported on October 19th, the Article 29 Working Party on the Protection of Individuals with Regard to the Processing of Personal Data challenged the EU member states to “open discussions with the US” to find a viable alternative to the Safe Harbor program. Today, the European Commission (EC) issued a public statement confirming its commitment to working with the United States on a “renewed and sound framework for transatlantic transfers of personal data.” The apparent trigger for today’s announcement are “concerns” from businesses about “the possibilities for continued data transfers” while the Safe Harbor Sequel is under negotiation.

In its statement, the EC confirms that during the pendency of the U.S.-EU negotiations, Standard Contractual Clauses and Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) are viable bases for legitimizing data transfers that formerly were validated by the Safe Harbor Program.

The EC was careful to note that today’s guidance “does not lay down any binding rules” and “is without prejudice to the powers and duty of the DPAs (Data Protection Authorities) to examine the lawfulness of such transfers in full independence.” In other words, a DPA still may decide that Standard Contractual Clauses and BCRs are not viable under its country’s laws.

Safe Harbor Update: House Votes to Pass Judicial Redress Act

by Amy C. Pimentel | Oct 22, 2015 | Consumer Protection, Data Privacy, Data Transfers/Safe Harbor/Privacy Shield

The Judicial Redress Act of 2015 (H.R. 1428) (Judicial Redress Act) is on its way to the U.S. Senate. On October 20th, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of passage.

The Judicial Redress Act extends certain privacy rights under the Privacy Act of 1974 (Privacy Act) to citizens of the EU and other specified countries.

The preamble to the Judicial Redress Act states that:

“The Judicial Redress Act provides citizens of covered foreign countries with the ability to bring suit in Federal district court for certain Privacy Act violations by the Federal Government related to the sharing of law enforcement information between the United States and a covered foreign government. Any such lawsuit is subject to the same terms and conditions that apply to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who seek redress against the Federal Government under the Privacy Act. Under current law, only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents may bring claims against the Federal Government pursuant to the Privacy Act despite the fact that many countries provide U.S. citizens with the ability to seek redress in their courts when their privacy rights are violated. Enactment of this legislation is necessary in order to promote and maintain law enforcement cooperation and information sharing between foreign governments and the United States and to complete negotiations of the Data Protection and Privacy Agreement with the European Union.”

The House’s passage of the Judicial Redress Act is expected to help mitigate one of the key criticisms of U.S. privacy protection from EU regulators. As discussed in our blog posts from earlier this month, in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decision invalidating the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Program, the CJEU noted that EU residents lack an “administrative or judicial means of redress enabling, in particular, the data relating to them to be accessed and, as the case may be, rectified or erased.” Once passed by the Senate (as is generally expected), the Judicial Redress Act will provide that means of redress.

Check back for updates on the Senate’s consideration of the Judicial Redress Act and the ongoing EU-US negotiations about a Safe Harbor Sequel.

Safe Harbor Update: Safe Harbor Sequel Coming Soon?

by Amy C. Pimentel | Oct 19, 2015 | Data Privacy, Data Transfers/Safe Harbor/Privacy Shield

As we wrote on October 6, 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) announced its invalidation of the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor program as a legally valid pathway for transferring personal data of European Union (EU) residents from the EU to the United States. An avalanche of reports, analyses and predictions followed the CJEU announcement because so many U.S. businesses operating in the EU relied on the validity of the Safe Harbor program.

As we expected, the CJEU decision was not the final chapter. On October 16, the Article 29 Working Party on the Protection of Individuals with Regard to the Processing of Personal Data (the Working Party, an independent advisory board to data protection authorities in EU members states) called on the EU member states to “open discussions with the US” to find a viable alternative to the Safe Harbor program.

Echoing the CJEU’s concern about “massive and indiscriminate surveillance” by the U.S. government, the Working Party challenged the United States and EU to produce by 31 January 2016, a new data transfer framework with “stronger guarantees” of EU residents’ “fundamental rights” to data privacy, as well as “redress mechanisms” for violations.

In the meantime, the Working Party affirmed that data transfers formerly validated by the Safe Harbor program are not legal. It also noted its intent to evaluate the validity of the two other key data EU-U.S. transfer pathways: Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) and Standard Contractual Clauses.

What This Means for U.S. Businesses

While waiting for news of Safe Harbor: The Sequel, our Privacy and Data Protection Group continues to advise a business that relied on the Safe Harbor program to:

Classify the data transferred from the EU to the United States (employee, consumer, business contacts, etc.).
Determine which of the data transfers from the EU to the United States were formerly validated by Safe Harbor.
Identify vendors that transfer EU personal data for the business and determine how those vendors validate their transfers (e.g., Did a vendor represent that it could make legitimate transfers via Safe Harbor, and, if so, what happens now?).
Decide how best to address EU to U.S. personal data transfers under one of the other data transfer pathways based on data classification (e.g., Binding Corporate Rules for intra-company transfers; Standard Contractual Clauses for transfers to third parties that do not otherwise meet EU requirements; or consent of each EU data subject—an impractical option for high-volume transfers).

Stay tuned for more on Safe Harbor: The Sequel and guidance for businesses.

Safe Harbor Update: European Commission Reaffirms Commitment to a Safe Harbor Sequel

Safe Harbor Update: House Votes to Pass Judicial Redress Act

Safe Harbor Update: Safe Harbor Sequel Coming Soon?

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