BRUSSELS – 13 September 2019 – BSA | The Software Alliance welcomes the positive and constructive discussions held this week during the third annual review of the EU-US Privacy Shield to allow the successful continuation of this important transatlantic data transfer mechanism. BSA hopes that the upcoming Commission report will conclude that the US continues to ensure an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred under the Privacy Shield.

“We congratulate the European Commission and the US government on their work in the lead up to the Privacy Shield’s third annual review,” said Thomas Boué, BSA Director General, Policy – EMEA.

“The rapid, seamless, and secure movement of data across borders is essential to the twenty-first century global economy. Companies of all sizes and across all sectors rely on cross-border data flows to do business on both sides of the Atlantic. This third, positive review of the Privacy Shield sends a clear signal about the importance of ensuring the continuation of EU-US data flows, particularly against the current backdrop of ongoing legal challenges to international data transfer mechanisms,” Boué added.

There are two ongoing separate legal challenges before the European Court of Justice, one against the EU-US Privacy Shield and the other against the Standard Contractual Clauses. BSA ӏ The Software Alliance is an amicus curiae in both cases.