The Future of US-EU Data Transfers: What to Expect Without Privacy Shield

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Last month, the App Association and Innovators Network Foundation convened a virtual Roundtable bringing together experts from the United States and European Union to discuss fallout from the Court of Justice of the European Union’s recent ruling in case known as Schrems II. As you may know, the key outcome of the court’s ruling was the invalidation the Privacy Shield agreement, which had crucially served as a streamlined and inexpensive transatlantic data sharing mechanism utilized by thousands of small businesses, including many of our members. The goal of the Roundtable was to highlight the numerous ways the ruling harms the small business community and explore how the United States and European Union might come together to renegotiate a new data sharing arrangement to replace Privacy Shield.

Today, we share with you a report from event moderator and rapporteur Paula Bruening, an expert on international data flows in her own right, as well as an Innovators Network Foundation Privacy Fellow. The report includes background on the decision, a thematic review of the Roundtable discussion, and concludes by recommending measures policymakers might consider as they work toward new solutions. We thank Paula for her diligent work in drafting this document and hope it serves as a useful reference in the continued discussions to create a successor agreement to the Privacy Shield.