The previous preliminary agreement, known as the Privacy Shield Framework, was introduced back in 2020 and laid down basic protocols that governmental agencies have to follow when sharing information between the two regions. The EU court felt that the pact heavily favoured the US government and gave them too much leeway when it comes to surveilling EU citizens.
Since then, various governmental agencies have been working together to create a new agreement that would meet the requirements of both sides while also upholding the strict personal privacy laws that are enshrined in the EU laws. That agreement was finally finalized back in March but was stuck in limbo as both sides dealt with the necessary red tape.
Now, the US President has officially pushed the proposal through with the help of an executive order, which will hopefully see it implemented in the near future. According to this new framework, various intelligence agencies will be required to take into consideration the privacy and civil liberties of EU citizens before requesting any data or conducting any surveillance.
They will have to undergo a multi-layer review process in case any EU residents bring up any privacy violation complaints against the agencies. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence will be responsible for conducting these investigations, with the help of their civil liberties officers. The results of these investigations will be further reviewed by the Attorney General, who will make the final rulings on the matters.
While these measures do address the initial apprehensions of the EU Commission, they will still have to approve the framework before it can be implemented officially. Only then will data sharing between the two regions be resumed.
