EU-US Data Transfers: Time to prepare for more trouble to come

Data Transfers Most EU-US data transfers are based on the “Transatlantic Data Privacy Framework” (TAFPF) or so-called “Standard Contract Clauses” (SCCs). Both instruments rely on fragile US laws, non-binding regulations and case law that is under attack – and is likely blown up in the next months. As instability in the US legal system becomes undeniable and the US shows open signs of hostility towards the EU, it is time to reconsider where our data is flowing – and how long the legal “house of cards” that the EU has built is holding up. Blog post by Max SchremsLayers of US and EU law. The “bridge” that the European Commission and previous Democratic US administrations built to allow EU personal data to be processed in the US does not rely on a simple, stable US privacy law. Instead, the EU and the US relied on a wild patchwork of tons of internal guidelines and regulations, Supreme Court case law, US factual “practices” or Executive Orders. In an attempt to make ends meet, these layers