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The decision taken by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on Tuesday (06/10) does not ensure an adequate level of protection to personal data stored in the United States. The decision affects the giants of ICT such as Facebook, Apple, Google and Amazon.
The CJEU vetoed the agreement, called Safe Harbour, between the EU and the United States for the transfer of personal data, citing weakness in the system subject to breach of privacy and spying. The case began after revelations made by a former employee of the National Security Agency (NSA) of the USA, Edward Snowden, who released to the media thousands of documents on the vast spying program the US government.
The decision affects companies like Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft and according to the Association of the Computer and Communications Industry (CCIA) – an organization that brings together American technology companies- will put at risk the data traffic that supports the largest trading relationship in the world.
Currently, about 4500 companies endorses the Safe Habour, an agreement closed 15 years ago between the US and the EU to establish rules for the data transfer and ensure the protection and confidentiality of that information.
Facebook and Microsoft claim have already set up legal mechanisms of backup in an attempt to avoid confrontations with regulators. The EU legislation provides for other legal forms of transfer of personal data, which are considered the most difficult processes to implement than those provided for in the current agreement.
The decision does not put an immediate end to the transfers of personal data, but entitles investigation and suspension to national regulators.
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