Matthew Rogers considers the impact of policy activist Max Schrems’s data protection challenge against Facebook
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that the ‘safe harbour’ agreement on data transfers from the ?EU to the US is invalid. The decision will have ?a profound effect on major firms such as Facebook, Microsoft, and Google, which rely ?on the ‘streamlined and cost-effective’ ?method to acquire data from Europe.
The ruling arose following a complaint ?from Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems, ?who expressed concerns regarding Edward Snowden’s revelations about the National Surveillance Agency (NSA) data collection program PRISM. This allowed US intelligence agencies to access EU citizens’ data stored in the US, raising serious questions as to whether US companies were ensu...
