The Matrix

On March 25, 2022, the United States and the European Union announced they agreed in principle to a new data privacy framework for cross-border data transfers. Although specific details of this new data privacy framework have not yet been provided, the new framework is meant to replace the former EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (the “Privacy Shield”), an arrangement that allowed companies to transfer the personal data of European data subjects to the United States. The Privacy Shield was invalidated in July of 2020 by the Court of Justice of the European Union on the basis that the Privacy Shield did not protect European data from U.S. surveillance.

Today, the European Commission (“EC”) adopted new standard contractual clauses (“SCCs”) reflecting new requirements under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).  The SCCs are intended to provide standardized templates for companies to utilize to comply with the GDPR’s data protection requirements.