With discussions between the European and United States authorities on the joint evaluation of the “Privacy Shield” mechanism continuing in Washington until Wednesday, stakeholders are also taking stock of this first year of application of the agreement designed to increase protection for Europeans in the transfer of personal data to American companies.
When interviewed by EUROPE on Tuesday 19 September, Agustin Reyna of the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) expressed the view that Privacy Shield was not adapted to the protection of the personal data of European consumers. “There is no equivalent protection of personal data in the US when compared with EU standards and the Privacy Shield does not fix this fundamental problem”, he said.
A similar view is held by the French Conseil national du numérique (CNN) which has called for renegotiation of an agreement in which there are “too many grey areas”. The current agreement should be seen as a “transitional arrangement” and a “more legally robust” agreement negotiated, in line with the pledge made by President Emmanuel Macron, CNN says in a press release.
Joining with the Article 29 Working Group (see EUROPE 11531) and with the European Parliament civil liberties committee (see EUROPE 11763) in the many criticisms that have already been expressed, CNN says it is concerned at the gathering and use made of European citizens’ data by US intelligence agencies.
Other complaints were: the vacancies in a number of key administration posts, such as that of ombudsman, the oversight of the mechanism on the American side, and the “critical asymmetry between the emerging European digital industries and the extra-European giants” imposed by this agreement.
From the American side, the assessment of the mechanism’s first year seems more positive. US multinational Microsoft, which was one of the first American companies to receive Privacy Shield certification, said that the mechanism was working well, that it had significantly enhanced protection of European citizens’ data and that now “the focus should be on progress rather than insisting on perfection”. The White House said on Monday that the commitment of the United States could not be stronger. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)