EDPB Publishes Guidance On Cross-Border International Data Transfer & EC Proposes Draft Decision On Standard Contractual Clauses

On Nov. 11, 2020, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published eagerly anticipated guidance in the wake of the July 2020 European Court of Justice's (ECJ) decision in Schrems II, outlining a process for ensuring data protections in compliance with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for EU-resident personal data that is transferred internationally (full text available here) (EDPB Guidance). The guidance outlines which steps companies should take to ensure that this data receives the same level of protection guaranteed within the EU when it is sent to third countries, the driving concern that led the European Court of Justice to invalidate the U.S.-EU Privacy Shield framework for international data transfer in Schrems II. It requires importers and exporters of the data to play an active role in ensuring this protection and to demonstrate the efforts they took. In conjunction with this guidance, the EDPB issued European Essential Guarantees