Upholding EU-US Privacy Shield is essential to consumers and business in Europe

AmCham EU has urged MEPs to oppose calls to suspend the agreement.

Here’s why: 

1. Businesses operating across the Atlantic and consumers need the Privacy Shield to stay in place. A continued constructive dialogue between the EU and US on data transfers is important to improve its implementation. The Privacy Shield delivers significant new protections for European citizens and is an essential bridge for trade between the world’s largest economies.

2. Transatlantic data flows are the highest worldwide and today over 3,200 commercial organisations are certified under the Privacy Shield. Following a successful first annual review during which parties identified areas for improvement, the US Federal Trade Commission announced a number of enforcement actions. This dialogue should continue ahead of the second annual review which will be held in September 2018 in Brussels.

3. The Privacy Shield is an indispensable tool for businesses. If the Privacy Shield is suspended, opportunities for businesses with operations in both the EU and the US and in particular small and medium-sized enterprises will be highly limited. Other data transfer mechanisms, such as Model Clauses and Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs), can be burdensome and more difficult to implement.

Read the full letter we sent to MEPs

If the Privacy Shield is suspended, companies operating in Europe will find their ability to transfer data to the world's largest economy immediately and significantly constrained. Therefore it is essential to support a continued and constructive dialogue between the EU and US on data transfers.