ITI: We Are Hopeful that an EU-U.S. Data Transfer Agreement is Within Reach
WASHINGTON/ BRUSSELS – Today, global tech trade association ITI issued the following statement ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU) decision in the Schrems II case to invalidate the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield on July 16, which continues to create significant legal uncertainty for all businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.
“For a year, all industries that conduct transatlantic business – including small and medium-sized enterprises, start-ups, and scale-ups operating in the U.S. and across Europe – have juggled continued uncertainty from the Schrems II decision,” said ITI’s President and CEO Jason Oxman. “The tech industry remains hopeful that an EU-U.S. data transfer agreement is within reach. Avoiding disruptions to data flows is key to minimizing any negative economic consequences, particularly as Europe and the U.S. manage the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and the nascent economic recovery.”
ITI continues to urge EU and U.S. policymakers to continue efforts to negotiate a successor agreement to the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield that addresses the concerns raised by the CJEU’s ruling and to adopt a strengthened and durable framework that is consistent with EU data protection rules manifested under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other applicable laws and based on a thorough appreciation of the current applicable legal frameworks in both the U.S. and the EU.
This week, ITI held the event Schrems II: One Year Later, which explored the impact of the ruling and other critical issues related to transatlantic data flows. Read a recap of the event here or watch it here.
ITI also joined more than 20 other organizations in the EU and U.S. on a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders asking the leaders to work towards an EU-U.S. adequacy agreement.
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