President Biden has signed an executive order implementing the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which replaces the EU-US Privacy Shield that was struck down by the by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) due to what it perceived to be a lack of safeguards and remedies for individuals located in the EU in connection the transfer of their personal information to the US. The executive order contains additional safeguards and grievance redress measures regarding how the US intelligence community obtains and uses such personal information. Once adopted by the European Commission, the new Framework will constitute an "adequacy decision" by the EU authorities that the US offers a reasonably equivalent level of protection for individuals located in the EU when compared to protections available in the EU. The CJEU's earlier decision created significant ramifications and impediments for the ongoing transfer of personal information from companies in the EU to companies in the US, having an impact on the substantial volume of commerce between the regions. It appears that the new Framework commitments also will address issues raised by the CJEU as to the viability of alternative mechanisms for the transfer of personal information from the EU to the US, namely, standard contractual clauses and binding corporate rules. While this new framework might draw a new challenge from privacy activists, it seems better positioned to withstand the same.
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