EU warns US over enforcement of Obama-era privacy deal - Financial Times

July 30, 2018

EU warns US over enforcement of Obama-era privacy deal
Europe’s commissioner for justice demands Trump administration comply with pact

Trump administration's criticisms of European privacy laws have thrown the viability of the Privacy Shield agreement into doubt © Reuters

Mehreen Khan in Brussels 7 HOURS AGO Print this page6
Brussels has warned the Trump administration it has three months to comply with demands made under a landmark EU-US data sharing agreement or risk throwing the deal into jeopardy.

Vera Jourova, the EU’s commissioner for justice, has written to Wilbur Ross, US commerce secretary, complaining that the White House has failed to appoint senior personnel to oversee the “ Privacy Shield” deal agreed during the Obama administration.

The pact allows more than 3,350 US and EU companies to freely transfer information, such as pictures and emails, from European and American citizens across the Atlantic. It was hastily agreed in 2016 after a previous agreement was struck down by the European Court of Justice.

But the viability of the Privacy Shield has been thrown into doubt by the Trump administration’s criticisms of European privacy laws and Washington’s failure to appoint a senior ombudsman to deal with complaints from EU citizens.

In a letter dated July 26 to Mr Ross and seen by the Financial Times, Ms Jourova demanded progress in appointing an ombudsman by October, ahead of a visit to Brussels by Mr Ross in the same month.

“Now that the new state secretary is in office and we are almost two years into the term of this administration, the European stakeholders find little reason for the delay in the nomination of a political appointee for this position,” wrote the commissioner.

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Europe’s concerns over the Privacy Shield come at a sensitive point for transatlantic tensions, particularly in the area of technology. Brussels earlier this month fined Google a record €4.3bn for abusing its market dominance with its Android mobile phone operating system. Donald Trump said the decision was another example of the EU “ taking advantage of the US”.

Brussels is increasing pressure on US authorities to enforce the Privacy Shield in the wake of the Facebook data scandal where the personal information from up to 87m US voters was harvested and passed to Cambridge Analytica, a company employed by Mr Trump’s presidential campaign team.

The EU estimates that the data of 2.7m European citizens was improperly shared by Cambridge Analytica.

The European Parliament has called for the Privacy Shield to be suspended on September 1 if the US does not better monitor the companies signed up to the pact and remove those that have engaged in the misuse of the personal data of EU citizens.

The agreement is also being challenged in the ECJ by Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems.

Ms Jourova told the FT she was not yet ready to suspend the pact but would press Mr Ross to make the full enforcement of the Privacy Shield a priority for the Trump administration in light of the Facebook scandal.

“If we suspend the system [the US] will see how quickly it will be on the top of their agenda. So let’s be smart and act,” said Ms Jourova.

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She added that the EU needed “certainty” that the illegal data sharing in the Facebook case — which happened before the agreement of the Privacy Shield in 2016 — was not taking place when the pact was in force.

“Facebook is a typical case for the enhanced due diligence provided by the Privacy Shield and it is big enough to attract the attention of US authorities,” said Ms Jourova, referring to the US administrations lack of urgency on addressing privacy issues.

The Privacy Shield is due for its second review from the European Commission in October. Brussels has the power to unilaterally revoke the agreement if Washington is not meeting its commitment to ensure the rights of EU citizens are adequately protected in the US.

Senior US officials have complained about the rigour of Europe’s personal privacy protections. In May, Mr Ross warned of the disruptive impact that Europe’s tough new personal privacy laws — known as the General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR) — would have on American businesses.

“Complying with GDPR will exact a significant cost, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises and consumers who rely on digital services and may lose access and choice as a result of the guidelines,” Mr Ross wrote in the FT.

Any companies that use the personal information of EU citizens must comply with the requirements of the GDPR.