US President Joe Biden’s decision to sign an executive order on transatlantic data flows marked a significant leap forward in what has been a very complex and divisive issue for Brussels and Washington.
In 2015, the Safe Harbor Privacy Principles were declared invalid by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in a case involving Facebook data. Its successor, the Privacy Shield, was set up in 2016 but was again struck down by the court in 2020.
Earlier this year, the EU and Biden’s administration agreed to work together on the Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework. The president’s executive order makes good on a number of the promises made under the initial agreement.
For example, it creates a data protection review court within the Department of Justice. This will enable EU citizens to file legal complaints if they feel that their data has been improperly collected or misused.
In addition, Biden’s order will instruct the US intelligence agencies only to...