The event, organized by AmCham Germany and Orrick, took place on Jan. 27, 2023, to mark the International Data Protection Day as an online event. Featuring Dr. Christian Schröder, Head of European Cyber and Data Protection Practice, Orrick, Dr. Anna Zeiter LL.M., Board Member/Executive Director, Associate General Counsel & Chief Privacy Officer, eBay, Bernhard von Sonnenleithner LL.M., Deputy General Counsel, Privacy EMEA, Workday and Dr. Jens Ambrock, Head of Division, The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, the event was an online panel discussion on the new Data Privacy Framework between the EU and the U.S.
The focus of this webinar was on how to deal with the unclear legal situation. Panelists shared the pros and cons of the likely upcoming decision of the EU Commission on the new Data Privacy Framework in Q2 and discussed how affected companies ought to prepare.
Panelists furthermore discussed the hurdles after the ECJ declared the Privacy Shield as invalid in 2022. After long negotiations, the new agreement reached in 2022 between the U.S. government and the EU Commission on a new transatlantic data transfer framework, is about to be approved by the European Commission. The Executive Order (EO) which paves the way for the European Commission's decision gives a transition period of up to one year from the EO's issuance, which is October 2023 which means that businesses may need to wait until then when they want to base their data transfers on the EU Commission's decision.
Many companies are taking a multi-pronged approach to the issue since the Schrems II ruling in 2020. To secure the temporary data transfers, they offer the standard contractual clauses/Binding Corporate Rule in addition to relying on the Data Privacy Framework.
The advantage of the privacy framework is the possible transfer of data to the recipients as if the data stayed in Europe which simplifies things. The standard contractual clauses are more bureaucratic, but they may have a longer life than the adequacy decision.
We can expect a decision in the summer of 2023 and expect that larger companies may do both, sign up to the Data Privacy Framework and continue using the Standard Contractual clauses so that they do not have to quickly adjust their processes should also the Data Privacy Framework be invalidated.
Orrick is a global law firm. Orrick assists German Dax companies, multinationals, and nation states, including the Federal Republic of Germany, in the technology & innovation, energy & infrastructure and finance sectors, advising on all aspects of transactions, disputes, cybersecurity and privacy and foreign investments from the offices in Düsseldorf and Munich.
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