International Data Transfers

Handley Gill’s specialist data protection consultants consider the options and certification requirements for US entities importing personal data from the EEA following the adoption of the European Commission’s adequacy decision in respect of the Trans-Atlantic EU-US Data Privacy Framework, providing a lawful basis for transferring personal data to the US under the GDPR.

Handley Gill Limited’s specialist data protection consultants consider the impact of the European Commission’s adequacy decision in respect of the Trans-Atlantic EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the steps controllers and processors should take in relation to transfers of personal data from the EEA and UK to the USA.

A commitment to establishing a UK-US data bridge, which would take the form of adequacy regulations being issued by the Secretary of State pursuant to section 17A Data Protection Act 2018, has been announced. Since this bridge is likely to be contingent on the European Commission issuing its own adequacy decision, and the draft has recently been rejected by the European Parliament, data exporters will be reliant on the Commission ramming through the roadblock or will find themselves stuck in traffic on the UK-US data flyover.

New guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office on the approach to assessing the risk of restricted ex-UK international data transfers may ease restrictions on transfers of personal data to the US and presents an opportunity to revisit ex-UK international data transfers that had previously been rejected as non-compliant.

President Biden issued Executive Order On Enhancing Safeguards For United States Signals Intelligence Activities on 07 October 2022, enhancing the safeguards afforded to global citizens and laying the foundation for adequacy findings by the European Commission and Secretary of State for ex-EEA and ex-UK restricted international data transfers. While the risk of legal challenge to any adequacy finding would remain, such findings would provide welcome respite for the millions of data exporters who are neither equipped nor resourced to conduct wide ranging reviews of foreign legislation at an individual level.

New data processing or other sharing agreements governed by the UK GDPR, which are entered into on or after Thursday 22 September 2022 and which involve the export of personal data from the UK to third countries and will rely on appropriate safeguards under Article 46 UK GDPR in the form of standard data protection clauses, can no longer rely on the standard contractual clauses (SCCs) or ‘model clauses’ issued by the European Commission and valid as at 31 December 2020 and must instead incorporate the International Data Transfer Agreement or modernised SCCs and International Data Transfer Addendum.