EU-US Data Transfer Deal to Make US Firms Protect Personal Data

The new EU-US data transfer deal prevents "generalized access" of the US public authorities to the personal data of the Europeans, while those suspecting misuse of their personal data could complain to several authorities, including a new dedicated Ombudsperson.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The new EU-US data transfer deal dubbed Privacy Shield will protect the fundamental rights of the European citizens regarding their personal data protection in the United States, the European Commission said in a statement.

"The new arrangement will provide stronger obligations on companies in the US to protect the personal data of Europeans and stronger monitoring and enforcement by the US Department of Commerce and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), including through increased cooperation with European Data Protection Authorities," the statement reads.

The statement added that new deal prevents "generalized access" of the US public authorities to the personal data of the Europeans, while those suspecting misuse of their personal data could complain to several authorities, including a new dedicated Ombudsperson.

The deal on the transfer of personal data substituted EU-US Safe Harbor agreement that was in place since 2000 and was proclaimed invalid by the European Court of Justice in October as not providing adequate personal data protection.

Europeans are particularly concerned about personal data protection after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden released in 2013 over 200,000 documents revealing that the agency was conducting mass digital surveillance programs, targeting people in the United States and globally.