Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Despite EU court rulings, Facebook says US is safe to receive Europeans’ data

Despite EU court rulings, Facebook says US is safe to receive Europeans’ data

Internal documents say EU judges’ ruling ‘should not be relied on’ in data transfer assessments.
Europe's top court says Washington plays fast and loose with European data. Facebook disagrees.

Despite the European Union's highest court twice declaring that the United States does not offer sufficient protection for Europeans' data from American national security agencies, the social media giant's lawyers continue to disagree, according to internal documents seen by POLITICO.

Their conclusion that the U.S. is safe for EU data is part of Facebook's legal argument for it to be able to continue shipping data across the Atlantic.

"The conclusion of the Equivalence Assessment is, in summary, that relevant U.S. law and practice provides protection of personal data that is essentially equivalent to the level of protection required by EU law," says one of the Facebook internal documents, dated 2021. Equivalence Assessments are made by companies to judge how privacy protections in non-EU countries compare to Europe's.

In July 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) struck down a U.S.-EU data transfer instrument called Privacy Shield. The court concluded Washington did not offer adequate protection for EU data shipped overseas because U.S. surveillance law was too intrusive for European standards.

In the same landmark ruling, the Luxembourg-based court upheld the legality of another instrument used to export data out of Europe called Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs). But it cast doubt on whether these complex legal instruments could be used to shuttle data to countries where EU standards cannot be met, including the U.S.

The CJEU reached a similar conclusion in 2015, striking down the predecessor agreement to Privacy Shield because of U.S. surveillance law and practices. In both rulings, Europe's top judges categorically stated Washington did not have sufficiently high privacy standards.

Still, Facebook — the company at the heart of both cases — thinks it shouldn't follow the court's reasoning.

The company's lawyers argue in the documents that the EU court ruling "should not be relied on" for the social media company's own assessment of data transfers to the U.S., because the judges' findings relate to Privacy Shield data pact, and not the Standard Contractual Clauses which Facebook uses to transfer data to the U.S.

"The assessment of U.S. law (and practice) under Article 45 GDPR is materially different to the assessment of law and practice required under Article 46 GDPR," the document reads. That refers to the two different types of legal data transfer instruments under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation and indicates that assessment under SCCs is different to assessment under Privacy Shield.

The company also says that changes to U.S. law and practices since the July 2020 ruling should be taken into account. As an example, it cites the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, a watchdog, "carrying out its role as a data protection agency with unprecedented force and vigour." Those arguments have been central to Washington's pitch during ongoing transatlantic negotiations over a new EU-U.S. data agreement.

Though companies have to take the EU court ruling into account when making their own assessments of third party country regimes, they can, in theory, diverge from the court's findings if they believe it is justified in a particular situation. This means that companies like Facebook can, in theory, continue to ship data out of Europe if they can prove its sufficiently protected.

"A transfer impact assessment conducted under EU law should take [the court's findings] into account for transfers to the U.S., but it is still an assessment that each company makes for their specific transfers under SCCs, which they are responsible for if the legality of that transfer is or will be challenged," said Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna of the Future of Privacy Forum think tank.

Even so, several legal experts contacted by POLITICO said they could not see how Facebook would be able to conclude the U.S. protections are essentially equivalent to the EU's in light of the court ruling. One said that this was especially true for Facebook, since the company's own data transfers were at the heart of the case.

The revelations heap fresh pressure on the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), which first received a complaint against Facebook's data transfers in 2013 from Austrian campaigner Max Schrems. That complaint led to the CJEU's so-called Schrems I and Schrems II rulings that concluded that U.S. protections fall short of EU standards.

In a preliminary decision in September 2020, the Irish DPC suggested Facebook would have to stop transferring data to the U.S. following last July's ruling, but has yet to finalize the decision despite overturning Facebook's challenge to the agency's investigation in May. Dublin now holds the power to stop Facebook from moving EU data to the U.S.

If the Irish watchdog follows through with that decision, it would mark a serious blow to Facebook's efforts to keep the data taps flowing amid the ongoing EU-U.S. discussions on a new data-transfer pact.

The Irish DPC said it could not comment since it has an open inquiry into the matter.

A Facebook spokesperson said: “Like other companies, we have followed the rules and relied on international transfer mechanisms to transfer data in a safe and secure way. Businesses need clear, global rules, underpinned by the strong rule of law, to protect transatlantic data flows over the long term.”

The company's internal document also points to the EU's data flows deal with the United Kingdom, which Brussels approved in June, to back up its favorable assessment of the U.S.

"It is clear that in some important respects, the U.K. regime, which the Commission has assessed to be adequate under Article 45 GDPR, takes a similar approach to the U.S. in relation to limitations on data protection rights in the context of interception of communications," the document reads.

In a separate document listing factors relevant to its data transfers, Facebook seeks to downplay the risk that data is accessed by U.S. authorities.

It notes the 234,998 data requests it received from U.S. authorities in 2020 "represents a tiny fraction" of the total number of users, which Facebook estimates at around 3.30 billion.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
China Criticizes US for Vetoing UN Ceasefire Resolution in Gaza
Saudi Arabia ranks first in UN index for e-government services in MENA
Israel Records 20% Drop In GDP, War In Gaza Is The Reason
Saudi Arabia's FDI Inflows Grow with New International Standards
Venture Capitals Power Up Across MENA Region
PM Modi Announces Opening Of New CBSE Office In Dubai
January Funding for MENA Startups Totals $86.5 Million
Saudi Arabia accelerates digital economy growth through Nvidia partnership
Israel unveils tunnels underneath Gaza City headquarters of UN agency for Palestinian refugees
Israel deploys new military AI in Gaza war
Egypt threatens to suspend key peace treaty if Israel pushes into Gaza border town, officials say
Saudi Arabia Warns Of A "Humanitarian Catastrophe" If Israel Moves On Rafah
US University To Shut Qatar Campus Due To "Heightened Mideast Instability"
Facebook and Instagram Ban Iran's Supreme Leader
Defense Technology Showcase Held in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports rise 2.5% to $6bn in November 2023: GASTAT
Rolls-Royce Executive Encourages Saudi Women to Tap into Their Inner 'Superhero' for Success in Defense Industry
Saudi Arabia launches National Academy of Vehicles and Cars
Saudi Tourism Minister Reveals Plan for 250,000 New Hotel Rooms by 2030
SAR to more than double eastern network passenger capacity with new trains deal
Saudi Arabia Enhances National Defense with New Partnerships
Saudi Aramco Maintains Arab Light Crude Pricing to Asia for March
NEOM Establishes New York Office to Support Investors
Saudi Wealth Fund Draws in Over $25 Billion Worth of Investments in Three Years, Al-Rumayyan Reveals
The Saudi Kingdom's Ultimatum to Israel: A Win-Win Peace with Saudi Arabia and the Arab World, or a Lose-Lose Continued Occupation and Endless Conflict
Biden condemns anti-Arab hate after WSJ opinion piece calls Dearborn ‘jihad capital’
Turkey Releases Seven Hostages Captured by Pro-Gaza Gunman
Arab Parliament Commends Women's Contributions to Societal Development
British and Hungarian Foreign Ministers visited Lebanese leaders to stress the importance of enacting UN Resolution 1701
Yemen's Houthis Say They Targeted British Merchant Vessel In Red Sea
Donald Trump Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize for 'Historic' Middle East Policy
US lawmakers approve F-16 jet sale to Turkey following NATO expansion support
Saudi Arabia Climbs 25 Places in World Bank's National Statistics Indicator
Tourism Growth in Saudi Arabia Fuels Advancements in the Hospitality Industry," Says Rotana Official
Houthi Rebels Request Departure of UN Staff from Yemen, Including US and UK Personnel, within a Month
Modi Inaugurates Hindu Temple on Site of Demolished Mosque in India
Over 25,000 Deaths in Gaza Amid Israeli Offensive
Escalating Clashes in Gaza as Israel Distributes Leaflets to Assist in Locating Hostages
Turkey's First Astronaut Set to Launch for International Space Station Today
Head of Palestinian Investment Fund Warns More People May Die of Hunger Than War in Gaza
Palestinian Envoy Criticizes UK for Alleged 'Double Standards' in Policies Toward Israel
Morocco to Lead UN Human Rights Council in 2024
Is artificial intelligence the solution to cyber security threats?
Egypt has been identified as the leading military force among Arab nations and ranks 15th globally
The AI Revolution in the Workforce: CEOs at Davos Predict Major Job Cuts in 2024
Iranian Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi Receives Additional Prison Sentence
"Gazans Urge Israeli Forces to Target Hamas in Leaked Audio"
Biden States US and UK Airstrikes on Houthis Were a 'Defensive Action
Large Pro-Palestine Rally in London as Gaza Conflict Hits Day 100
South Africa Urges World Court to Halt Israeli Actions in Gaza
×