Trans-Atlantic data flows: The view from Europe

The U.S.-EU Privacy Shield framework, the agreement between the U.S. government and the European Commission that enables continued flows of commercial data from Europe to the United States, is undergoing its first annual review by the Commission and other European institutions. In the U.S., the Trump administration has affirmed support for the framework and its essential pillars, while simultaneously pursuing foreign policies and privacy policies that cause alarm to some Europeans. What will be the outcome of the EU Commission’s review, scheduled to be completed by September, and how will the actions of the Trump administration affect the future of data transfers?

On July 19, Governance Studies at Brookings hosted a leading member of the European Parliament on privacy and data protections issues, Jan Philipp Albrecht, to discuss views of the Privacy Shield and consumer data privacy more broadly. How well has the Privacy Shield functioned since it was adopted in July 2016? How might other geopolitical events impact the future of trans-Atlantic data transfers? And what emerging threats pose the greatest risk to data protection in the EU and U.S.?

After the session, speakers took audience questions. You can follow the conversation on Twitter using #DataProtection.