Dive Brief:
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The United States and the European Union agreed to modifications to the new Privacy Shield transatlantic data transmission framework last week.
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The changes include tougher rules for companies that possess data about Europeans and better defined limits on U.S. surveillance, according to Reuters.
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The revised Privacy Shield is now under review by European member states, which are expected to hold a vote on the revisions early next month, sources told Reuters.
Dive Insight:
The 15-year-old Safe Harbor agreement, under which about 4,000 businesses transferred personal information — such as payroll and human resources information — of EU citizens to the US for storage and processing, was ruled invalid by the EU last October.
The EU and the US agreed upon the new EU-US Privacy Shield in February. It mandates US companies offer stronger protection for Europeans' personal data and also requires the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission, in cooperation with European Data Protection Authorities, to monitor and enforce data privacy violations.
But EU privacy regulators had expressed concern that the new agreement does not sufficiently address concerns over US surveillance programs, and called for revisions.
The revisions more clearly outline the conditions under which US intelligence services can collect bulk data. They also included safeguards on how that data is used, EU sources told Reuters.
