On 9 December, the Commerce Committee of the U.S. Senate held a hearing on the consequences of the Schrems-II decision and the future of U.S. – EU data transfers. The Committee invited five experts to provide evidence and respond to the Senators questions. The hearing made clear there is no consensus yet on a new international agreement to replace the invalidated Privacy Shield. At the same time, both experts and Senators seemed to agree such an agreement is needed sooner rather than later, especially to allow small business owners to continue international trade. Small businesses made up over 70% of Privacy Shield certified companies, the Commerce Committee was told, and are essential for the U.S. economy.
James Sullivan, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Services with the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, explained he and his team were in regular contact with the European Commission to discuss a replacement Privacy Shield, and also confirmed the Biden Administration transition team was kept up-to-date on progress being made. He recognised one of the issues to be solved is government access to data, but stressed that from his perspective, liberal democratic countries should be able to reach agreement on this point, and clearly distinguish such access to the access demanded by non-democratic countries. He also referred to ongoing multilateral discussions, including within the OECD, to find common ground on government access restrictions.
FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips explained the increased legal uncertainty and costs for businesses following the Privacy Shield invalidation. The Privacy Shield was the most cost-effective and easy-to-use framework for data-related international trade, and a replacement is needed indeed. Interoperability between legal frameworks around the world, and especially between Europe and the United States, should be a priority for the incoming administration. He also ..
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