Privacy Assurances Save U.S., EU Data Transfer Pact

The European Union and United States’ Privacy Shield agreement is likely to be approved, after the U.S. provided reassurances that European users’ data would not be inappropriately used or retrieved. Robert Litt, the general counsel of the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, also provided explanations of U.S. privacy safeguards to assuage European leaders. The Privacy Shield will allow companies to move online data between the two regions. Last October, Europe’s highest court ruled that the previous agreement did not sufficiently answer European privacy rights concerns. Though the new agreement looks ready to go forward, many data protection advocates in Europe have said they plan to bring legal challenges.