FPF Statement on White House Executive Order to Implement the European Union-U.S. Data Privacy Framework

October 7, 2022 — Statement from Future of Privacy Forum’s CEO Jules Polonetsky:

With this step, the U.S. puts in place practical surveillance limitations, oversight, and individual redress that are unmatched almost anywhere else in the world in the context of national security. Leading democracies are converging on surveillance standards with this progress. Constitutional limitations prevent a U.S. system that is identical to the European Union, but the Court of Justice of the EU has helped bring about U.S. reforms that will significantly protect privacy in the context of national security. Although there are important legal discussions to have about the exact nature of the judicial redress and the oversight mechanism, as well as the restrictions on bulk collection, this is a momentous achievement.  

Particularly important is the reciprocity requirement for redress, which requires any country to implement safeguards for US citizens’ data to benefit from this system and will help advance global standards.

Read the White House Executive Order here and the White House Fact Sheet here.

FPF’s VP for Global Privacy, Dr. Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna, spoke about the EO at an IAPP LinkedIn Live on ‘The EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework & Next Steps for Data Transfers’ on Friday, October 7. Watch it here.