Joe Biden signed a decree on the transfer of personal data between the US and the European Union

The US president, Joe Biden, signed this Friday a decree that allows progress in a new framework for the transfer of personal data from the European Union (EU) to the United States, which is very important for the digital economy.

Washington and Brussels reached an agreement in principle in March on a new version after the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) challenged the previous ones due to fears about US surveillance programs.

The signing of the decree will allow the European Commission to start its own ratification process, which will take months.

“It is the culmination of our joint efforts to restore confidence and stability to transatlantic data flows,” US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters.

The text reinforces the measures aimed at guaranteeing confidentiality and the protection of civil liberties in American surveillance programs about data collected in Europe and transferred or stored across the Atlantic.

also create a independent and binding mechanism so that people can ask for compensation if they believe that their personal data has been collected unlawfully by the US intelligence services.

This mechanism provides for two levels of appeal: one with an officer in charge of the protection of civil liberties in the US intelligence directorate and another before an independent court formed by the Department of Justice.

“These commitments fully respond to the Schrems II decision of the European Court of Justice and will cover transfers of personal data to the United States under EU law,” Raimondo said.

In July 2020, the Court determined that the “Privacy Shield” (Privacy Shield), used by 5,000 US companies, including giants such as Google or Amazon, did not protect against possible “interference with the fundamental rights of the people whose data is transferred”.

The case began with a complaint by Max Schrems, a personality in the fight for data protection, against Facebook. He himself had already denounced “Safe Harbor“, the predecessor of “Privacy Shield”.

It is possible that the new version will end up in court, like the previous ones, but it was prepared to respond to previous reservations from European justice, US government officials acknowledged.

The CJEU’s decision plunged companies that operate in the EU and transfer or store data to the other side of the Atlantic into legal uncertainty. They have resorted to alternative solutions to continue with these transfers, waiting for a more solid and sustainable system, but their legality is doubtful.