Microsoft exec says Safe Harbor framework is ‘alive and well’
Privacy advocates have expressed concern about Brussels' Commissioner Viviane Reding's decision to leave in place the Safe Harbour framework used by some companies to transfer data from Europe to the US.
The EC's vice president tabled her draft bill for the overhaul of the EU's 1995 data protection law on Wednesday.
However, critics have questioned how the Safe Harbour scheme can remain workable within the wider context of the commissioner's DP legislation proposals.
EU data protection laws currently state that organisations must tell people when they are asked to disclose their personal information. Some companies that meet the requirements of Europe's DP directive are allowed to transfer EU data to the US.
Microsoft is one of them.
Reding's proposals state:
Article 41 sets out the criteria, conditions and procedures for the adoption of an adequacy decision by the Commission, based on Article 25 of Directive 95/46/EC. The criteria which shall be taken into account for the Commission’s assessment of an adequate or not adequate level of protection include expressly the rule of law, judicial redress and independent supervision. The article now confirms explicitly the possibility for the Commission to assess the level of protection afforded by a territory or a processing sector within a third country. Read more...