Hi !
Welcome back from vacation! Several of us in the national DPIA project are back this week. However, that doesn't mean there hasn't been any activity during the holidays. The working group responsible for how we are going to handle EU-US transfers of personal data, has been busy throughout the vacation.
This is particularly crucial because in mid-July, the framework that replaces Privacy Shield as a legal basis for transferring data to the USA came into effect. So, what now?
The plan was to conduct TIA assessments as part of the national DPIA
Before the new framework came into effect, the only legal basis for transferring personal data from the EU/EEA to the USA was the Standard Contractual Clauses. However, this basis alone could not be used.
The controller exporting data must also assess how secure it is to transfer the personal data. Formally, this is an assessment of whether the legal basis you use provides sufficient privacy protection in the third country. This is commonly referred to as a Transfer Impact Assessment (TIA).
Our plan was to conduct these assessments for the countries where Google has data centers for Google Workspace for Education, namely the USA, Singapore, Taiwan, and Chile.
Has this changed now?
The framework IS valid
The short answer is that our TIA-work and data transfers will likely remain unchanged. We will continue to work on the assessments for the countries where Google has data centers. And if the framework is valid at the time we finalize the DPIA, we will likely recommend using it as the transfer basis.
Regardless of what we might think about US intelligence legislation (and we have strong opinions on that, especially those of us working on EU-US data transfers), the new framework is valid.
So, if the company you transfer the personal data to is certified under this framework, you can use the adequacy decision as the transfer basis. Google is certified under the framework, and you can find all other certified companies listed here.
Risk of the framework being invalidated - we need a Plan B
But we are also aware that there is a high probability that the new framework will be legally challenged in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Max Schrems and NOYB have already indicated that they consider the new framework to be a copy of Privacy Shield, which was invalidated in the Schrems II ruling. They will also seek to challenge the new framework.
If the new framework is also deemed invalid, you will have to fall back on the previous transfer basis, namely SCC and TIAs. In that case, we need to have a Plan B. So, we will continue to conduct third-country assessments in the national DPIA project.
I wish you a wonderful, privacy-friendly week-end!
Best regards,
Ida Thorsrud
Project manager national DPIA