The obligation to stop transfers of personal data between the European Union and the United States has been suspended for the moment but will be reviewed in November by the Irish justice
After obtaining a temporary suspension of a court decision asking it to stop the flow of personal data of users from Europe to the United States, Facebook is going further. The social network explains that it cannot function after the end of the freeze on the measure. If the obligation is confirmed, Facebook hints at the end of its activities in Europe.
In a legal document obtained by the Sunday Business Post and relayed by Reuters, the data protection officer of Facebook Ireland explains that the company “has difficulty seeing clearly how, in these circumstances, it could continue to provide Facebook and Instagram services in the European Union “.
Irish Data Protection Commission investigation
The interruption of the transfer of personal information had been decreed by the Irish Data Protection Commission, the Irish equivalent of the French National Commission for Informatics and Liberties (Cnil). The authority considered that the mechanism used by the Californian giant and the related standard contractual clauses “could not be used in practice”.
It responded to a fear of the European Union that American laws on the protection of privacy would violate the rights of European citizens in this area. The opinion was contested by Facebook, which won its case in the form of a postponement of its application and a review next November by the Irish High Court.
In a blog post on September 9, Facebook admitted to being under investigation by the Irish Data Protection Commission. The company noted that “more than 5,000 companies” relied on the same transfer system between the two continents, called the Privacy Shield. “The lack of secure and legal international data transfers would hurt the economy and prevent the development of data businesses in the EU,” Facebook said.
