September 25, 2017

Last week, officials from across the United States Government, the European Commission, and EU data protection authorities gathered in Washington, DC to conduct the first annual review of the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework established in 2016.

This first annual review marks an important milestone for the Framework and for US-EU cooperation on data protection issues. The Privacy Shield raised the bar for transatlantic data protection by ensuring that participating companies and relevant public authorities provide a high level of data protection for EU individuals.

Since the program’s inception, over 2,400 organisations have joined the Privacy Shield. US and EU officials welcomed the information shared by Privacy Shield participants on Framework compliance, and by civil society and independent recourse mechanism providers. Officials noted that this input greatly informed the review process and will lead to continued improvements to the functioning of the program.

The review examined all aspects of the administration and enforcement of the Privacy Shield, including commercial and national security related matters, as well as broader US legal developments. Participants also discussed their respective work to implement the Privacy Shield program during its inaugural year, recognising the value of regular communication between US and EU authorities.

The statement concludes that the United States and the European Union share an interest in the Framework’s success and remain committed to continued collaboration to ensure it functions as intended. To read the statement in full, click here.