Insurance Europe – together with a group of other financial sector associations – has written to the European Commission and the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) to raise concerns about the impact of a 16 July 2020 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
The ruling invalidated the “Privacy Shield” that enabled
international data transfers outside of the EU, while also casting doubt
upon the use of other available tools, namely Standard Contractual
Clauses (SCCs) and Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs). This has resulted in
considerable legal uncertainty for companies that need to transfer
personal data from the EU to the United States, and to other third
countries, as part of their day to day business.
To address these risks, the letter calls on the Commission to provide
legal certainty as soon as possible to enable European companies to
carry out their business activities that include the transfer of such
data.
While the letter welcomes the EDPB’s intention to present guidance on
“additional measures” to be put in place alongside SCCs, it also urges
data protection authorities not to impose sanctions until this guidance
has been published and a sufficient period of time has passed to enable
companies to implement it.
The letter also calls on the Commission to update the SCCs for
international data transfers, and to ensure they can be used as
standalone tools, with no need for additional measures.
Importantly, the letter welcomes the launch of discussions on a
replacement for the “Privacy Shield” and calls on the Commission to
continue its work on an adequacy framework that allows for the lawful
transfer of data to the US while respecting the privacy of EU citizens.
Full letter
© InsuranceEurope
Key
Hover over the blue highlighted
text to view the acronym meaning
Hover
over these icons for more information
Comments:
No Comments for this Article