The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the European Commission (EC) reached agreement earlier this year on a new “Privacy Shield Framework” to permit the transmission of personal data, including human resources data, from European Union (EU) member countries to participating companies in the United States without violating EU privacy law.
EU authorities have now approved a final Privacy Shield Framework, completing the adoption process, and the Commerce Department announced that it began accepting self-certifications to the Privacy Shield Framework as of August 1, 2016.
For U.S. companies that self-certify, adoption of the Privacy Shield Framework now puts in place a process under which they can move personally identifiable data from the EU to the U.S. without fear of running afoul of the EU’s strict privacy protection requirements. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker praised the Framework as “a milestone achievement that will provide strong data privacy and facilitate more trade and job creating investments in both the U.S. and Europe.”
The DOC Privacy Shield website is available here. Also, the DOC has published a fact sheet on the Privacy Shield Framework and a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs). Additional information about the Privacy Shield is also available on the EC’s website.
Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.