The EU and US reach a preliminary pact to store data about Europeans on US soil, but reveal few details, after the EU declared the previous pact illegal in 2020
Agreement could assuage concerns of companies with operations on both sides of the Atlantic — BRUSSELS—The U.S …
Wall Street JournalDaniel Michaels
Context & Ripple Effects
The pact follows US-EU talks over continued US access to Europeans’ data and the collapse of the earlier Privacy Shield framework. It offers cross-border businesses a prospective replacement, but the lack of disclosed terms leaves the practical compliance path unsettled.
The subsequent arc shows the agreement moving toward draft EU approval tied to US surveillance changes, then into a new transfer deal that had to contend with the same judicial privacy objections that defeated two earlier pacts.
First-order effects
Companies operating on both sides of the Atlantic gain an initial policy signal that EU-to-US data transfers may again receive a formal framework, reducing the immediate uncertainty created by the prior pact’s invalidation.
EU and US officials must turn the preliminary understanding into detailed safeguards capable of supporting an approval process; the March announcement alone does not supply those terms.
Second-order effects
US technology companies, including Facebook, which had been central to earlier discussions, can plan around a potential transfer mechanism but remain exposed until the framework is finalized and approved.
The pact shifts the next contest from whether a deal is politically possible to whether its surveillance protections meet the standard that EU judges applied to the two earlier agreements.
Third-order effects
Repeated replacement agreements and judicial reversals point to transatlantic data transfers becoming a recurring governance issue, with durable access depending on US privacy safeguards rather than a one-time commercial accord.
If legal scrutiny continues to invalidate transfer frameworks, firms with EU-US operations will face a structurally less stable compliance environment for centralized US data handling.
The trend: Transatlantic data policy is moving toward continually renegotiated transfer frameworks whose viability hinges on reconciling US surveillance practices with EU privacy review.
Pleased that we found an agreement in principle on a new framework for transatlantic data flows. It will enable predictable and trustworthy 🇪🇺🇺🇸 data flows, balancing security, the right to privacy and data protection. This is another step in strengthening our partnership. ht…
We welcome the announcement of an agreement in principle on adequacy between the EU and the US Global events show that it is more important than ever for like-minded democracies to come together and to acknowledge our shared and deep commitment to high data protection standards h…
I am pleased to announce that after more than a year of intense negotiations, the EU and the U.S. have agreed on the principles for a new framework for Transatlantic #DataFlows. 🇪🇺🇺🇸 This strengthens further our alliance, economic ties, and protects citizens' fundamental rights. …
With concern growing about the global internet fragmenting, this agreement will help keep people connected and services running. It will provide invaluable certainty for American & European companies of all sizes, including Meta, who rely on transferring data quickly and safely. …
First Statement on the “#PrivacyShield 2.0” announcement. Any actual text will need months to be issued, reviewed and analyzed, but it seems we enter another couple of years of legal uncertainty. #SchremsIII #GDPR #SafeHarbor https://noyb.eu/...
Seems we do another #PrivacyShield especially in one respect: Poltics over law and fundamental rights. This failed twice before. What we hear is another “patchwork” approach but no substantial reform on the US side. Let's wait for a text, but my frist bet is it will fail again. h…
The EU-US deal on transatlantic dataflows announced by President @vonderLeyen and @POTUS Biden will offer EU business legal certainty after two years in legal limbo. I expect the agreement to contain sufficient fundamental rights safeguards to stand the test of time. @EPPGroup ht…
Several outlets reporting that the shape of the new deal is centred around the ability for Europeans to appeal to a US authority. Possibly with some beefed-up US agency to investigate citizen concerns. No hint yet of a change in US's ‘surveillance is crucial to our security’. htt…
“But while some...expressed optimism that the new deal will withstand legal scrutiny, some in Europe have said that they think any deal that isn't coupled with changes to U.S. surveillance laws isn't likely to pass muster with the EU's Court of Justice.” https://www.wsj.com/...
I honestly don't see how psuedoanonymous data collected in Google Analytics by companies operating in the EU who obtain user consent is a violation of anyone's fundamental rights. And if it is a violation of the law, then the law should change. https://twitter.com/...
@tessarakt @JedBracy From what I've read, the new mechanism “could assuage the EU—and its top court—with new administrative appeals mechanisms but without a change to U.S. law, which would require approval by Congress” See: https://www.wsj.com/... Well... Good luck with that!
— How long will will Commission take to transpose those US changes into a Privacy Shield agreement? — Are negotiations over? I was told no. — How quickly will it take @maxschrems or others to file challenge to Europe's highest court?
Unanswered #PrivacyShield questions: — What changes did US agree to, and if it's the DoJ administrative body, when will that be set up? — What assurances did Brussels get that state secrets principle won't be used via FBI vs Fazaga case?
None of the political statements on greater transatlantic cooperation matter. What matters is the legal underpinning of a new agreement that will withstand the immediate challenge at Europe's highest court. The CJEU, last time I checked, doesn't give an F about politics.