U.S. PUBLISHES EXECUTIVE ORDER ON TRANS-ATLANTIC DATA TRANSFERS – EU-U.S. DATA PRIVACY FRAMEWORK
November 8, 2022
On October 7, 2022, the Biden administration issued a long-awaited executive order on transatlantic data transfers that includes expanded protections for U.S. and European citizens and new guidance on how U.S. security agencies can access and use an individual’s data.
The executive order lays out steps the U.S. will take to implement U.S. commitments under the European Union-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (“EU-U.S. DPF”) to bolster privacy and civil liberties safeguards during U.S. intelligence-gathering activities. The commitments included in the EU-U.S. DPF were originally announced by President Biden and European Commission President von der Leyen in March 2022 following surveillance concerns and the EU Court of Justice’s decision to strike down the previous data privacy framework known as the Privacy Shield. The new EU-U.S. DPF outlines how U.S. intelligence officials can conduct intelligence activities and make transfers of information that involve personal data from the EU to the U.S. The EU-U.S. DPF also outlines what is “necessary and appropriate” for federal agencies to collect during their surveillance activities and details how individual data can be used for national security purposes on both sides of the Atlantic. Also, the EU-U.S. DPF will require that a multilayer redress mechanism be established so that individuals in the EU can submit complaints or grievances if they believe their personal data was collected or handled improperly by intelligence officials in violation of U.S. law.
The executive order on the EU-U.S. DPF comes in response to concerns regarding surveillance practices in the U.S. and the U.S. and Brussels’ agreement to establish a revamped Privacy Shield agreement to allow for personal data such as payroll information, family pictures, etc. to be sent across the Atlantic.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6665).
Share This Post
Authors
