face

By Julia Fioretti BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The United States has set out limits to its use of data collected in bulk about European citizens after a new information-sharing pact was agreed this month, according to documents seen by Reuters. A clear explanation of what information could be used for — preventing its “indiscriminate” and “arbitrary” use — was a key condition of the new Privacy Shield framework that enables firms to easily transfer personal data to the United States. Under the deal, Washington agreed to create a specific new role within the State Department to deal with complaints and enquiries forwarded by EU data protection agencies.

By Julia Fioretti BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The EU's highest court struck down a deal that allows thousands of companies to easily transfer personal data from Europe to the United States, in a landmark ruling on Tuesday that follows revelations of mass U.S. government snooping. Many companies, both U.S. and European, use the Safe Harbour system to help them get round cumbersome checks to transfer data between offices on both sides of the Atlantic. The court said Safe Harbour did not sufficiently protect EU citizens' personal data since the requirements of American national security, public interest and law enforcement trumped the privacy safeguards contained in the framework.