On Friday, March 25, 2022, US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen jointly announced that a deal has been reached to replace the former Privacy Shield framework governing data transfers from the European Economic Area (“EEA”) to the US. As they say, the devil is in the details, and to date, there is no actual text of the accord available to provide specifics about the new framework. However, according to a Joint Statement, the US has agreed to implement the following measures:
- put in place new safeguards to ensure that signals surveillance activities are necessary and proportionate in the pursuit of defined national security objectives;
- establish a two-level independent redress mechanism with binding authority to direct remedial measures; and
- enhance rigorous and layered oversight of signals intelligence activities to ensure compliance with limitations on surveillance.[1]
