EU and US Reach Agreement on New Data Transfer Framework

On Feb. 2, the European Commission announced that the EU and the U.S. have agreed to a deal to allow U.S. businesses to transfer personal data to and from the EU. The so-called EU-US Privacy Shield was drafted to reflect the requirements set out in the European Court of Justice's October ruling in the Schrems case, which declared that the existing Safe Harbor agreement was invalid. This alert lays out the key provisions of the deal, which must still be formally approved by EU member states.