Post Safe Harbor: Regulatory Changes and Economic Consequences

Abstract

As a business area generating billions of dollars p.a. in trade1, legal developments that concern the data flow business between Europe (EU) and the US are a highly controversial subject among political as well as business entities. Nevertheless, the e-business is of fast-moving nature and the currently available regulatory framework, still being in its fledgling stage, does not seem to be able to keep pace. With the Safe Harbor Agreement being declared invalid by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on October 6th 2015, the legal foundation for personal data transfer from Europe into the US has been deprived.