- Third round of talks on data protection between the USA and Europe on 22 May in Washington D.C.
- eco Association and i2Coalition discuss the future of the EU-US Privacy Shield with experts from politics and industry
In order to improve digital trade relations between North America and Europe, eco – Association of the Internet Industry and its US partner i2Coalition (Internet Infrastructure Coalition) are promoting dialogue on transatlantic data protection. As leading Internet associations on both continents, they are inviting their member companies on both sides of the Atlantic to the US capital on 22 May 2019 to discuss future data protection frameworks with data protection experts, US Congress staff and Members, and industry representatives.
In the foreground of the discussions is the future of the EU-US Privacy Shield, introduced in 2016. This data protection agreement between the EU and the USA forms the legal ground for the transfer of personal data to companies based in the USA. The background to this is that, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU-GDPR), personal data of EU citizens may only be transferred to a third country if a legal ground exists. At present, intensive discussions are taking place on the future of transatlantic data protection, both in the US and in the EU. “By virtue of the transatlantic roundtable discussions, we want to promote an exchange between political actors and companies on both sides of the Atlantic and to strengthen the Privacy Shield in order to preserve this important legal ground,” says Oliver Süme, Chair of the eco Association, who will moderate the roundtable together with David Snead, Co-Founder and Policy Working Group Chair of the i2Coalition.
Dialogue rather than uncertainty through regulatory debates on transatlantic data protection
The second annual evaluation of the Privacy Shield by the EU Commission has shown that this agreement is proving its worth, says Süme. “In the USA, there’s currently quite a lot happening in the area of data protection. A whole series of legislative initiatives are getting off the ground to strengthen the overall level of data protection. We’re on the right track, and we want to build on this with our event in Washington.”
The eco Association and i2Coalition have launched the transatlantic roundtable discussions to jointly explore common interests and work on framework conditions. The event in Washington D.C. is the third and, for the moment, the last in a series of events this year that started on 7 February in Brussels and continued on 12 February in Berlin.
