America, Europe, and the Free Flow of Data

Today, a new data sharing agreement between the U.S. and Europe comes into effect. The so-called Privacy Shield allows the flow of data—from tweets to financial records—across the Atlantic in accordance with European privacy laws. (The old pact, Safe Harbor, was last year deemed insufficient in protecting Europeans’ rights.) European citizens will now have the ability to seek justice in American courts if they believe that companies or the U.S. government have misused their data. But there has been notable criticism of the new measures from both sides. The pact restricts use of data for “automated individual decision-making,” for instance, leading to worries that it may stymie artificial intelligence research. At the other end of the spectrum, some EU countries are concerned that it doesn’t go far enough in protecting the rights of their citizens. A likely reality: the pact will soon be challenged in court.