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ARTICLE · 22 OCTOBER 2015

Harbor Doubts – What The EU's 'Safe Harbors' Decision Really Means

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You may have read the headlines regarding the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decision in the Max Schrems v Irish Data Protection Commissioner case...

European UnionPrivacy
Kenneth Mullen
Kenneth Mullen
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You may have read the headlines regarding the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decision in the Max Schrems v Irish Data Protection Commissioner case in which a formal European Commission decision to approve the 'Safe Harbors' Scheme for EU-US data transfers has been declared invalid.

Some of the initial reaction seemed to verge on hysterical. The US tech industry is facing "a legislative buzzsaw" or a "bombshell" according to some sources and others seemed to indicate that the CJEU decision was a major threat to transatlantic trade. But is this really going to be the case?

As the dust settles, the following provides is our brief reality check on the decision and what it means:

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