EU-US Draft Adequacy Decision Finally Arrives
The long-awaited conclusion to the EU-US data flow saga may finally be nearing a resolution, as the European Commission published its draft adequacy decision recognizing the essential equivalent of American data protection standards on Dec 13.
The development comes after years of negotiation and discussion following the summer 2020 Court of Justice of the European Union ruling that declared the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield invalid over concerns regarding America's lack of data protections in place respective to the GDPR.
Last week's draft adequacy decision paves the way for the finalization of the new Data Privacy Framework (DPF) and unimpeded data flows between the EU and U.S.
The advancements in the new DPF come after an executive order from President Joe Biden limiting American intelligence agencies' access to personal data, as well as creating a new redress system for EU citizens.
While the new DPF will now face a lengthy finalization process, the European Commission's decision recognizing American data protection equivalency is a major step forward and likely the trigger needed to finalize unimpeded data flows.
However, the decision will face challenges during that process, as European privacy activist Max Schrems vowed to contest the decision in the CJEU. Schrems is the man who brought the matter before the CJEU in the aforementioned 2020 case, which is referred to colloquially as the "Schrems II" decision.
