GDPR - Possible Suspension of Privacy Shield

The EU-US Privacy Shield (the Privacy Shield) may be suspended by September, and affected clients are encouraged to keep a watching brief over developments.

The Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament (the Committee) has passed a resolution calling on the European Commission (the Commission) to suspend the Privacy Shield, which is a certification system allowing US companies to send and receive personal data to and from organisations in Member States. A suspension would have direct relevance to clients in the Channel Islands, as transfers of personal data to and from the US under the respective local laws depend on this certification.

The resolution follows after details emerged that Facebook and Cambridge Analytica had been certified under the Privacy Shield. The Committee resolved that:

"In view of the recent revelations of misuse of personal data by companies certified under the Privacy Shield such as Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, [the Committee] calls on the US authorities competent to enforce the Privacy Shield to act upon such revelations without delay."

A draft motion is due to be voted on in July, and if passed could see the Privacy Shield suspended as of 1 September, if appropriate measures are not put in place to address adequacy concerns.

Read the Committee's press release and the draft resolution.