On 25 March, the European Commission and the United States of America announced that they had reached a new framework agreement on the cross-border transfer of personal data (the “Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework”) that will be the basis for an adequacy decision by the European Commission. The new agreement was announced less than two years after the European Court of Justice ruled that the Privacy Shield was invalid. It ensures that the GDPR-guaranteed levels of data protection are not undermined by being transferred to the US and when European citizens’ data is processed. The agreement’s crucial points will be represented by binding rules and safeguards to limit the access to data by the US authorities, which assumed considerable importance in the cited Court of Justice decision. The authorities will be allowed to access and process personal data only to the extent that this is necessary and proportionate to protect and pursue the defined objectives of national security. The communiqué stated that this will be achieved by establishing an independent two-level review mechanism, to establish corrective measures and improve the strict and layered oversight of intelligence activities by ensuring compliance with limitations during surveillance. The Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework will provide a basis for transatlantic data flows that is fundamental to protecting data subject rights. The communiqué confirmed that teams from the US government and the European Commission will continue their cooperation to turn this agreement into legal documents to be adopted by both sides. Once this process is completed, European and US data controllers and processors must comply with the framework agreement provisions.
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