BRUSSELS — July 26, 2016 — BSA takes note of today’s opinion of the Article 29 Working Party on the recently adopted Privacy Shield, a new trans-Atlantic data transfer framework, which we believe satisfies EU privacy and data protection requirements.

“The Privacy Shield as it stands today is the result of unprecedented cooperation between the European Commission, European DPAs, and the US Government. It has delivered a robust framework for trans-Atlantic data transfers. We trust that this cooperation will carry on throughout the implementation of Privacy Shield, as well as in the context of the annual review process,” commented Thomas Boué, BSA Director General, Policy-EMEA.

“Privacy Shield provides strong privacy protections. But more importantly it is a living and breathing framework that can be enhanced, as a result of the annual review process, if deemed necessary” said Boué.

The Privacy Shield introduces numerous measures to address different levels of protection between the two legal regimes. Improvements include strong data protection obligations for companies, safeguards on US Government access to data, effective protection and redress for individuals and, not least, an annual joint review.