Safe Harbour update

Paul Nemitz, director for fundamental rights at DG Justice and one of the negotiators in the talks over Safe Harbour 2.0 has said that the end of January is not a deadline for concluding negotiations. However, he had hoped that the January ‘deadline’ set by the Article 29 Working Party would add enough pressure to make serious progress.

The Article 29 Working Party – the forum where the EU’s national data protection authorities meet – has previously signalled that the end of January should not be seen as a deadline for Safe Harbour 2.0 discussions. Although, this offers little to businesses which have halted their trans-Atlantic data flows. Furthermore, there are a number of national data protection authorities that want to take a stronger line regarding the transfer of personal data to the USA. The situation is far from certain and has left organisations in limbo.

Pressure is mounting from all sides for the EU Commission to strike a deal with the US on Safe Harbour 2.0 and end the current legal uncertainty.

The DMA will be keeping members updated on the latest developments.