Committee Leaders Applaud Adoption of EU-U.S. Privacy Shield

Press Release

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) today welcomed the approval of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield as voted on by the European Union's College of Commissioners. The Privacy Shield will provide a framework to support transatlantic commerce while protecting EU citizens' personal data. Throughout the last several years, the committee has provided a key voice in this conversation: encouraging a "Safe Harbor" Deal and hosting hearings on cross-border data flows and the importance of the safe harbor framework.

"The enactment of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield is a major victory for transatlantic commerce. Adoption of this agreement encourages innovation and bolsters respective economies by ensuring a seamless flow of data across the Atlantic while also safeguarding individuals' personal data. It also highlights the successful approach that the FTC has taken towards privacy and security," said Upton, Burgess, and Walden.

The leaders continued, "A new framework of legal certainty, commercial security, and economic prosperity is an important step forward. Thankfully, this agreement will put the months of fiscal uncertainty that hampered growth in the rearview mirror. Today's deal reaffirms our longstanding relationship with EU allies and provides certainty for job creators and consumers alike."

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