Urgent agreement on Transatlantic Data Flows needed

Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, has said it notes today’s High Court ruling to enable the Data Protection Commission to proceed with a statutory inquiry into Facebook’s EU-US data transfers. The situation since the CJEU ruling on the Schrems II case last July has created uncertainty for thousands of firms, large and small, across several sectors, who rely on legitimate safeguards to enable secure international data transfers at a time when we need to reboot the economy.

Recent data indicates 90% of EU-based companies from all economic sectors transfer data outside Europe, often to multiple countries, and that these transfers are predominantly used for business-to-business purposes*. In 2019, there were over 248,000 employed in ‘digitally intensive’ sectors** in Ireland.

Erik O’Donovan, Senior Digital Policy Executive, Ibec states ‘’Ireland should use its unique position as a bridge between the EU and the US to try and expedite attempts to negotiate a new and lasting data transfer agreement.

“We encourage the EU and US authorities to swiftly conclude ongoing work to ensure a revised and resilient framework for EU-US data exchange, addressing privacy issues as well as the needs of modern digitalised business.’’