Data sharing deal between EU and US to come under ECJ scrutiny

A data-sharing deal between the EU and the US will come under the scrutiny of the European Court of Justice’s Advocate General, Yves Bot tomorrow when he determines whether it is still binding following allegations of American spying.

The case began when Austrian law student Max Schrems, 27, filed a complaint against social media giant Facebook with theIrish Data Protection Commissioner, who monitors whether privacy laws are being observed.

He complained to the Irish authority because, in the EU, Facebook users enter into an agreement with Facebook Ireland when they join the network.

Mr Schrems argued that Facebook assisted America’s National Security Agency (NSA) in gathering email as well as other data from EU citizens and passing this information to servers based in the US.

He asked the Irish watchdog to investigate whether the US data safeguards were adequate.

However, the Irish regulator rejected the request on the basis it was bound by the EU Safe Harbour agreement made in 2000 which permits companies to transfer EU citizens’ data to the US as it is deemed to have adequate privacy protections in place.

Mr Schrems appealed the decision in 2013, prompting Justice Gerard Hogan of the Irish High Court to ask the ECJ whether the regulator remained bound to observe Safe Harbour in light of “gaping holes in contemporary U.S. data protection practice” and whether it could or should undertake its own investigation following the Snowden revelations.

In 2013, Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor leaked information on a mass electronic surveillance programme conducted by the US known asPRISM.

It was revealed the NSA used Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Google to gather individuals’ data.

After the leak the European Commission called for Safe Harbour to be reviewed and negotiations with Washington have been ongoing since January last year.

The Advocate General will deliver his opinion tomorrow and, while the court will not be bound by it, it often follows such decisions.