Article 29 Working Party Expresses "Strong Concerns" About The EU-US Privacy Shield Agreement

On April 13, the Article 29 Working Party announced that it had completed its review of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield documentation. In a 58-page opinion, the WP29 made numerous critiques to the proposed EU-US Privacy Shield framework.  During a press conference, Working Party Chairwoman Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin commented that the Privacy Shield is a "great step forward" that includes a number of "major improvements" as compared to the now invalid Safe Harbor. However, the Chairwoman also expressed "strong concerns" with a number of areas where clarification is required.

Specifically, the Working Party believes that the Privacy Shield framework does not adequately address a number of data protection principles established under EU law. The Working Party has stated that the commercial part of the Privacy Shield framework requires clarification on the following points: