The EU Court of Justice has agreed to hear an appeal against the US-EU Privacy Shield. The French group Quadrature du Net brought the appeal in 2016 and said the case will be heard on 1-2 July by the EU court.
The so-called Privacy Shield is a bilateral agreement designed to protect personal data crossing the Atlantic in the course of business operations. It was agreed in 2015 after the EU's previous designation of the US as a 'safe harbour' for personal data was struck down by the Court of Justice.
The end of the safe harbour designation was due in part to the revelations of mass surveillance by US authorities, which the court said violated EU laws on personal data protection. Furthermore, EU residents were denied any legal redress in the US if their data was accessed without authorisation.
The Privacy Shield attempted to rectify these shortcomings but opponents have said it is largely a self-regulating system without sufficient oversight or legal protection. The European Commission conducts an annual review of the agreement and still found issues needing attention in its second review in October 2018, such as the appointment of an ombudsman.
According to Quadrature du Net, which advocates for digital rights, the Privacy Shield "still allowed abuses by the US, such as mass surveillance". The group has been outlining its case in a series of exchanges with the court and US and EU authorities, and the court agreed its claims needed to be hear. The group received assistance from the American Civil Liberties Union on the case as well as the French consumer rights group UFC Que Choisir.
