On 10 August 2020, Following the European Court’s Schrems II judgment invalidating the US Privacy Shield (and calling into question the legal basis for other transatlantic data transfers), the EU Commission and US Department of commerce issued a short, joint statement:
“The U.S. Department of Commerce and the European Commission have initiated discussions to evaluate the potential for an enhanced EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework to comply with the 16 July judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Schrems II case. This judgement declared that this framework is no longer a valid mechanism to transfer personal data from the European Union to the United States.
The European Union and the United States recognise the vital importance of data protection and the significance of cross-border data transfers to our citizens and economies. We share a commitment to privacy and the rule of law, and further deepening of our economic relationship, and have collaborated on these matters for several decades.
As we face new challenges together, including the recovery of the global economy after the COVID-19 pandemic, our partnership will strengthen data protection and promote greater prosperity for our nearly 800 million citizens on both sides of the Atlantic.”
European Commission and US Department of Commerce, 10 August
Whilst it remains to be seen what results from these discussions, further litigation cannot be ruled out. This is the initial twitter response of Mr Schrems:
“So the @SecretaryRoss and @EU_Justice are (A) working on changing US surveillance laws or (B) working on the third beating by the #CJEU?!”
Max Schrems, Twitter, 10 August
