Privacy Shield To Open For Business August 1

After more than two years of negotiations, on July 12, 2016, the European Commission formally adopted the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (the "Privacy Shield") framework as a valid mechanism for transfers of personal data from the EU to the U.S. Touting the Privacy Shield as "a robust new system to protect the personal data of Europeans and ensure legal certainty for businesses," the European Commission released an Adequacy Decision, along with accompanying Annexes, concluding that "the United States ensures an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield from the Union to self-certified organisations in the United States."

The announcement follows a period of uncertainty for the Privacy Shield, which has seen certain aspects of the framework challenged in recent months. First proposed in early February 2016 as a replacement for the invalidated EU-U.S. Safe Harbor framework, the Privacy Shield has since been the subject of