EU agrees to transfer data with the US

Brussels - European Union regulators on Tuesday gave approval for a new data transfer agreement between the bloc and the United States.

The US and the European Commission, the executive arm of the block, finalized the agreement in mid-July, after months of negotiations on technical details of the mechanism.

The European Commission said it has incorporated national authorities recommendations for data protection and the European Parliament, in its final decision.

The intention was to ensure that European data is protected adequately from the US surveillance when transferred to servers based in the US.

The new mechanism, known as Shield Privacy, replacing an earlier which was dismantled by the European Court of Justice against the concern of a US mass surveillance.

The decision generated uncertainty for thousands of companies that depended on this system to send business information across the Atlantic.

The new model should be challenged in the courts by activists for privacy, but the approval of regulators reduces uncertainty. Source: Dow Jones Newswires.