BNR – The European Commission (EC) has declared the signing of a deal with the US to enable the smoother transfer of personal information between the two parties.
Activists defending the right to information privacy pledged to fight the deal tooth and nail in the court.
United States Biden and EU lawmakers applauded the agreement, which bypassed reservations about the US unrestricted access to European data.
The agreement makes sure that Google, Meta and other technology companies may resume communication of data with the United States.
Two earlier attempts to establish a legalised frame on a deal allowing information sharing had been futile because of privacy. The deal, signed on Monday, intends to eliminate Europe’s fears about personal data violations by the United States intelligence services.
European Citizens to Be Able to Challenge Information Collection
While American citizens are protected by law from spyware from US companies, foreigners are not so. However, the latest deal enables European nationals to challenge if they believe their information has been gathered by US agencies.
A Data Protection Review Court, comprised of American judges, will be established to process the allegations. The EU-US Data Privacy Framework, effective on Tuesday, also confirms that only necessary information is to be collected.
Didier Reynders, EU Justice Commissioner stated that the deal meant personal information may easily connect between Europe and the US. However, the non-profit organisation None of Your Business (NOYB) pledged to fight against the deal.
The organisation challenged Facebook before, stating it breached EU privacy rights, and the latter affirmed.
US President Joe Biden laid the foundation for the last agreement by giving an order in October 2022.
The order obligated American lawmakers to amend information collection laws, considering proportionality to the US national security. The United States of America has flexible rules when it comes to privacy, unlike the European Union.
The EU fined Meta $1.3bn (£1bn) in May over sharing European users’ data in the United States.
Meta stated that it would be near impossible to work in Europe without an official framework for information sharing.
