WASHINGTON, D.C. – The following is attributable to Sean Heather, senior vice president for International Regulatory Affairs and Antitrust at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“Today’s announcement by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (IDPC) regarding Facebook’s data transfers to the United States stems from hypothetical concerns about government access to data identified by the European Court of Justice almost three years ago. The European Data Protection Board’s decision to fine Meta, which the IDPC found had acted in good faith, creates a dangerous precedent for any company transferring data to the US. Most importantly, the U.S. and EU have since reached an agreement to satisfy the Court’s concerns. Once implemented, the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework should supplant today’s decision by the IDPC. This issue goes far beyond Meta; the time has come for the United States and the European Union to operationalize this agreement quickly, returning certainty to data flows that underpin transatlantic economic ties, society, and our international cooperation.”
