Top digital firms including Facebook and Google are facing scrutiny over how they handle data as the European Court of Justice (ECJ) looks to investigate whether data agreements between the EU and US protect European privacy. The case was prompted by a complaint from Austrian campaigner Max Schrems, who has argued that information revealed by […]
Top digital firms including Facebook and Google are facing scrutiny over how they handle data as the European Court of Justice (ECJ) looks to investigate whether data agreements between the EU and US protect European privacy.
The case was prompted by a complaint from Austrian campaigner Max Schrems, who has argued that information revealed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden showed Facebook and others were ignoring their privacy obligations.
At a hearing in Luxembourg on Tuesday the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) Advocate General said he would give his final opinion on 24 June – the ECJ will make its final decision thereafter.
The result of the proceedings could have wide implications for all US firms dealing with Europeans’ data, including the likes of Twitter, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo.
It centres around the Safe Harbour agreement, in place since 2000, which allows US firms to collect data on their European users as long as certain principles around storage and security are upheld.
It means user data gathered in Europe can easily be stored legally in data centres within the US.
Those principles include giving adequate notice to users that their data is being collected, and suitable transparency over how it can be accessed and by whom.
