EU Court Cancels Data Sharing Agreement with US
2020-07-18
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1The top court for the European Union (EU) has cancelled a data-sharing agreement between the EU and the United States.
2The Court of Justice of the European Union announced the ruling Thursday.
3Thousands of companies share data with U.S. computers under the agreement, called Privacy Shield.
4The court noted that the U.S. government is able to use the agreement to collect personal information.
5The Associated Press reports the ruling will complicate business for about 5,000 companies.
6It could require government agencies to carefully examine any new data transfers.
7The goal would be to make sure Europeans' personal information remains protected under the EU's data protection rules.
8The ruling means that EU and U.S. officials will likely have to negotiate a new agreement.
9The new one will have to guarantee that Europeans' data gets the same privacy protection in the U.S. as it does in the EU.
10Privacy activists praised the court ruling as a major victory. But business groups are worried about its effects.
11Companies like Facebook move personal data between their servers around the world.
12These transfers underpin billions of dollars in business activity.
13Max Schrems is an Austrian activist whose criticism of how Facebook data is processed led to the court case.
14He said, "It is clear that the U.S. will have to seriously change their surveillance laws."
15Schrems first brought the case to court in 2013.
16He did so after former U.S. National Security Agency worker Edward Snowden reported that the U.S. government was spying on people's online data and communications.
17The revelations included details on how Facebook gave U.S. security agencies the personal data of Europeans.
18Although the court case resulted from concerns over Facebook, it could affect technology companies, finance and even the automobile industry.
19Experts say the ruling would not affect things like email and flight and hotel plans at this time.
20Cloud computing services by providers like Microsoft would also continue unless government officials intervene.
21Companies use legal methods, called standard contractual clauses, that require businesses to follow EU privacy rules when transferring messages, pictures, and other information.
22The clauses - which are terms and conditions - are used to ensure that EU rules are obeyed when data leaves the European Union.
23The Court of Justice of the EU ruled that, as a general rule, those clauses are still valid.
24However, it cancelled the Privacy Shield agreement on data transfers because the U.S. government can demand personal data for national security reasons.
25The court said that in cases where there are concerns about data privacy, EU officials should vet, and if needed block, the transfer of information.
26That means EU officials could block Facebook, for example, from transferring any more European data to the U.S.
27Government surveillance of personal data is one of the issues in the dispute between the U.S. and the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei.
28Data is extremely important to many of the world's biggest companies, like Facebook, Google, Alibaba and Amazon.
29National security officials also want personal data to help them guard against extremist attacks.
30Mining large amounts of people's data has also become important to winning elections.
31Alexandre Roure is a top official at the Computer & Communications Industry Association, a not-for-profit group.
32He said the decision "creates legal uncertainty for the thousands of large and small companies on both sides of the Atlantic."
33He said all sides hope that EU and U.S. officials can find an answer "...in line with EU law, to ensure the continuation of data flows which underpins the trans-Atlantic economy."
34I'm Mario Ritter Jr.
1The top court for the European Union (EU) has cancelled a data-sharing agreement between the EU and the United States. 2The Court of Justice of the European Union announced the ruling Thursday. 3Thousands of companies share data with U.S. computers under the agreement, called Privacy Shield. The court noted that the U.S. government is able to use the agreement to collect personal information. 4The Associated Press reports the ruling will complicate business for about 5,000 companies. It could require government agencies to carefully examine any new data transfers. The goal would be to make sure Europeans' personal information remains protected under the EU's data protection rules. 5The ruling means that EU and U.S. officials will likely have to negotiate a new agreement. The new one will have to guarantee that Europeans' data gets the same privacy protection in the U.S. as it does in the EU. 6Privacy activists praised the court ruling as a major victory. But business groups are worried about its effects. Companies like Facebook move personal data between their servers around the world. These transfers underpin billions of dollars in business activity. 7Max Schrems is an Austrian activist whose criticism of how Facebook data is processed led to the court case. He said, "It is clear that the U.S. will have to seriously change their surveillance laws." 8Schrems first brought the case to court in 2013. He did so after former U.S. National Security Agency worker Edward Snowden reported that the U.S. government was spying on people's online data and communications. The revelations included details on how Facebook gave U.S. security agencies the personal data of Europeans. 9Although the court case resulted from concerns over Facebook, it could affect technology companies, finance and even the automobile industry. 10Experts say the ruling would not affect things like email and flight and hotel plans at this time. Cloud computing services by providers like Microsoft would also continue unless government officials intervene. 11Companies use legal methods, called standard contractual clauses, that require businesses to follow EU privacy rules when transferring messages, pictures, and other information. The clauses - which are terms and conditions - are used to ensure that EU rules are obeyed when data leaves the European Union. 12The Court of Justice of the EU ruled that, as a general rule, those clauses are still valid. However, it cancelled the Privacy Shield agreement on data transfers because the U.S. government can demand personal data for national security reasons. 13The court said that in cases where there are concerns about data privacy, EU officials should vet, and if needed block, the transfer of information. That means EU officials could block Facebook, for example, from transferring any more European data to the U.S. 14Government surveillance of personal data is one of the issues in the dispute between the U.S. and the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei. Data is extremely important to many of the world's biggest companies, like Facebook, Google, Alibaba and Amazon. National security officials also want personal data to help them guard against extremist attacks. Mining large amounts of people's data has also become important to winning elections. 15Alexandre Roure is a top official at the Computer & Communications Industry Association, a not-for-profit group. He said the decision "creates legal uncertainty for the thousands of large and small companies on both sides of the Atlantic." 16He said all sides hope that EU and U.S. officials can find an answer "...in line with EU law, to ensure the continuation of data flows which underpins the trans-Atlantic economy." 17I'm Mario Ritter Jr. 18Mario Ritter Jr. adapted this Associated Press story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 19________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21invalidate -v. to make something invalid or to cancel its effect 22vet -v. to investigate to find out if someone or something meets certain requirements 23surveillance -n. observing someone or something, especially for security purposes 24revelations -n. something that is made known that was surprising or secret before 25valid -adj. something that meets legal requirements 26underpin -n. to support something from below, to provide a basis