The U.S. Commerce Department recently launched a website allowing companies to sign up for a program that is a mechanism in which personal data can be transferred from the European Union to the United States.
The U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Justice, along with the European Commission, reaffirmed their shared values and welcomed the finalization of the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, according to a July 17 news release.
“The DPF is a testament to the strength of the U.S.-EU relationship, and it reflects our joint commitment to promoting economic opportunity while protecting individual privacy rights,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in the release. “Now, businesses – large and small – will be able to access a streamlined and affordable mechanism to transfer data between our jurisdictions. To meet the needs of businesses, the Commerce Department launched the DPF program website today, giving companies a one-stop-shop where they can sign up for the DPF program and get important information about its benefits.”
The framework ensures the protection of personal data rights for Europeans and grants legal certainty to “companies on both sides of the Atlantic,” the release said. The European Commission’s adequacy decision will foster over $7 trillion in annual transatlantic trade and investment.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Raimondo and European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders met at the Justice Department to mark the EU's recognition of the DPF's adequacy, according to the release.
This framework effort was the result of months of negotiations and reflected shared values and trust between the EU and the U.S., the release said. EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework will enable businesses to transfer personal data in line with EU law and other legal mechanisms.
With the establishment of the Data Protection Review Court and enhanced safeguards for U.S. signals intelligence activities, the DPF will be a tool to facilitate secure and trusted transatlantic data flows while respecting individual privacy rights, the release said.
