The European Commission and the US have agreed a pact for the development of a new EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which aims to ease European concerns over any personal information that is shared with US intelligence agencies.
The EU-US agreement means Europeans will be allowed to object if they suspect that their data has been collected by American intelligence and means Meta, Google and other tech giants can continue sharing information with the US.
The news follows the recent UK and US ‘Data Bridge’, an extension of the Data Privacy Framework, set to boost over £79 million data exports, highlighting a global push for better regulation around data.
The Privacy Framework also pledges that only ‘necessary and proportionate data’ will be collected as a Data Protection Review Court, made up of US judges, will be created to hear the claims regarding objections.
Sridhar Iyengar, Managing Director of Zoho Europe, said: “Data is a central business tool across many sectors, so it is encouraging to see the EU and US collaborating to further enhance its benefits. It has become one of the most valuable resources that businesses can use, informing strategic decision-making from forecasting to addressing operational inefficiencies to customer preferences and much more.
“For the full benefits and potential of data to be realised, ensuring a safe and ethical approach to the collection, storage and use of personal data is essential for businesses.”