Thousands of U.S. and European companies who rely on the EU–US Safe Harbor Framework to permit the
transfer of personal data from the EU to the U.S., have come a step
closer to seeing the transfer mechanism struck down.
Today, Europe's Advocate General Yves Bot (a top advisor to
the European Court of Justice) released his long awaited opinion on the EU–US Safe Harbor
Framework, in which he says that the European Commission
decision[1], which permits European organisations to send personal
data to the U.S. under the framework, is invalid.
Under EU privacy law, the transfer of personal data to a country
outside the European Economic Area can in general only take place
if the destination country ensures an "adequate" level of
data protection. The European Commission's decision of 2000 in
respect of the Safe Harbor Framework allows certain organisations
in the U.S. (particularly those in the tech sector) to self-certify
their compliance with European privacy principles
