EU, US agree on deal to protect Europeans’ right to privacy
The European Union says it has reached an agreement with the United States that allows the bloc’s citizens to sue Washington in case their personal information is misused.
On Tuesday, Brussels and Washington agreed on the deal, called the "umbrella agreement," to protect the Europeans’ right to privacy following four years of negotiations.
"Once in force, this agreement will guarantee a high level of protection of all personal data when transferred between law enforcement authorities across the Atlantic," said European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Vera Jourova in a statement.
She further hailed the agreement as an "important step" in the reconstruction of “trust in EU-US data flows.”
"It will in particular guarantee that all EU citizens have the right to enforce their data protection rights in US courts," she added.
The agreement, however, does not prevent Washington from snooping on EU citizens, allowing personal information to be handed to US authorities for the so-called law enforcement purposes. The deal will also pave the way for the US access to the personal information of EU air passengers in an alleged attempt to counter terrorist threats.
The agreement needs the approval of the US Congress in order to go into effect.
The issues of digital surveillance and privacy protection have been in the limelight since Edward Snowden, the former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, began leaking classified intelligence documents in 2013.
Snowden revealed that the NSA had been collecting the phone records of millions of Americans and foreign nationals as well as political leaders all around the world.
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