cross-border data transfer

Ten German data protection authorities (DPAs), led by the Berlin DPA, announced today that they will send formal questionnaires to about 500 companies in Germany to assess the scope of the companies’ cross-border data transfers. In a press release, the DPAs pointed out that the export of personal data to non-EU countries has become a common practice for major international, as well as small and medium sized companies, without, as the authorities say, adequate attention being paid to the unique data privacy issues raised by cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS).

FTC Commissioner Julie Brill sat down this morning with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation to discuss the EU-US Privacy Shield, the new framework for transatlantic transfer of personal data announced earlier this week.

Commissioner Brill began by discussing the agreement generally, and provided valuable insight on the role of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the implications of the EU-US Privacy Shield for commercial entities in the US. Read on for a discussion of key takeaways from the event.