Reports: EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Heads Toward Approval
The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield agreement finally could win European approval as early as July, according to reports, providing some long-awaited certainty to financial service providers and tech companies like Google and Facebook that handle consumers’ personal information.
The proposed data-transfer pact between the U.S. and European Union would replace the Safe Harbor agreement, which was struck down by a European court last year. Safe Harbor enabled U.S. companies to handle and store the personal data of users in the EU without being subject to the EU’s often strict privacy rules.
According to the New York Times, European officials are “satisfied” that data “would not be unfairly used or retrieved by American intelligence agencies.” A vote on the pact could happen Monday but even if approval is won then, a final deal is not expected until July 11, when U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker is scheduled to visit E.U. capital city Brussels.
Approval would come over the recent objections of European privacy advocates.
Related stories:
- EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Fails to Win Approval from Watchdog
- Privacy Shield Roils Critics, Muddying U.S.-EU Data Sharing Picture
- European Supervisor Wants to Tighten up EU-U.S. Agreement
