Schrems v. Irish Data Protection Commissioner: Some Further Thoughts

As the dust begins to settle after the headline-grabbing Advocate General opinion in the Schrems v. Irish Data Protection Commissioner it may be worth considering some of the other potential implications arising from that opinion.

Of course, the AG opinion is not the final word on this matter. That will rest with the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). And the CJEU is not bound to follow this opinion. So there may well be life left in Safe Harbor (or Safe Harbor 2.0) yet. But if the CJEU follows suit, what else could this mean?

• The Irish Data Protection Commissioner had initially refused Mr Schrems' complaint on the grounds it was "frivolous or vexatious" as he could not evidence that his information specifically had been subject to surveillance by US law enforcement agencies.  Once the CJEU has made its decision, the complaint will be passed back to Ireland – could the same conclusion be reached as Mr Schrems has still not provided