The End of Safe Harbor: Implications for EU Digital Privacy and Data Protection Law

Abstract

In Schrems v. Data Protection Commissioner, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice (the highest court in the EU) held that the “adequacy” of the protection provided by the Safe Harbor privacy principles (an EU data protection framework underpinning the exchange of personal data between the EU and US) was no longer valid under EU law. This article examines this landmark judgment and its implications for EU digital privacy and data protection law and a future Safe Harbor framework.

Keywords: EU Data Protection, privacy, Schrems, Safe Harbor, Edward Snowden