Last October, a case against Facebook brought by an Austrian law student blew up an EU-US agreement regulating American tech companies' handling of Europeans' personal data. A new deal has now been agreed, which – pending further legal challenge – will have important implications for how intelligence services share information.
PARIS – In October 2015, a court case launched by Max Schrems, a 28-year-old Austrian privacy activist and graduate student at the University of Vienna, led to the annulment of the so-called Safe Harbor agreement that governs how United States firms comply with the European Union’s privacy laws. The decision, by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), threw into legal uncertainty the collection, handling, transfer, and storage of user data by about 4,500 US companies.
PARIS – In October 2015, a court case launched by Max Schrems, a 28-year-old Austrian privacy activist and graduate student at the University of Vienna, led to the annulment of the so-called Safe Harbor agreement that governs how United States firms comply with the European Union’s privacy laws. The decision, by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), threw into legal uncertainty the collection, handling, transfer, and storage of user data by about 4,500 US companies.