The White House issued a press release on Friday detailing an executive order titled Enhancing Safeguards for United States Signals Intelligence Activities. The order provides direction for the steps that the United States must take to honor commitments made under the European Union-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, which was announced in March of 2022.
The release explains that the Data Privacy Framework will “restore an important legal basis for transatlantic data flows by addressing concerns that the Court of Justice of the European Union raised in striking down the prior EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework as a valid data transfer mechanism under EU law.”
Through the executive order, individuals and regional economic integration organizations will be able to seek redress if they feel their personal data was collected in a manner that violates U.S. law. The executive order will seek to safeguard U.S. signals intelligence activities.
The flow of data between the EU and the United States is pivotal, the release asserts, in facilitating their $7.1 trillion economic relationship. Companies in both the United States and Europe are said to “rely upon cross-border data flows to participate in the digital economy and expand economic opportunities.”
Specifically, President Biden’s executive order will add additional safeguards to signals intelligence activities, mandate handling requirements for personal information, require U.S. intelligence community elements to update their policies and procedures, allow individuals to obtain independent and binding review and redress, and encourage an oversight board to review the policies and procedures of the Intelligence Community.
The press release determines that the executive order, which was signed last Friday, “represents the culmination of a joint effort by the United States and the European Commission to restore trust and stability to transatlantic data flows and reflects the strength of the enduring EU-U.S. relationship based on our shared values.”
