EPIC - European Commission Signs Off on Flawed "Privacy Shield"

The European Commission has approved the "Privacy Shield" which will allow companies to transfer personal data of Europeans to the U.S. without legal protections. European data protection authorities, the European Data Protection Supervisor, and EU and US NGOs identified flaws with the non-binding framework. Citing a judgement of the European high court which struck down a similar framework, Max Schrems and Jan-Philipp Albrecht predicted that the "Privacy Shield will share the history of the previous Safe Harbor and be invalidated by the European Court of Justice." EPIC and other consumer organizations urged the EU and US to strengthen safeguards for transborder data flows. According to the Federal Trade Commission, identity theft complaints in the US increased by 47% between 2014 and 2015.