Note on the European Commission’s adequacy decision - EU-US Privacy Shield

The European Commission’s adequacy decision in relation to the new rules on transfer to the United States of the data of data subjects who are citizens of the European Union – the EU-US Privacy Shield ("Privacy Shield") – was published on 12 July 2016. The Privacy Shield creates a self-certification system for US companies that wish to process data of European Union citizens. Its objective is to facilitate the transfer of data and, at the same time, impose stricter obligations on companies to protect the rights of the citizens in question.