A legal challenge to the EU-US Privacy Shield has been launched by Irish privacy advocacy group Digital Rights Ireland, according to a report by Reuters.
The European Commission in July formally adopted the commercial pact governing data transfers, under which the U.S. agreed that public authority access to data for law enforcement and national security purposes is subject to clear limitations, safeguards and oversight mechanisms.
However, the agreement, which replaced Safe Harbour, has been challenged by Digital Rights Ireland in a case against the Commission, because it does not contain adequate privacy protections, Reuters said.
Despite a number of embellished reports in the media, the court filing of the case – which you can access and keep track of using this link http://bit.ly/2eLDTdr – as yet contains almost no information. Filed on 16 September, its subject matter says it is an ‘area of freedom, security and justice’ and that the procedure and result sought is ‘action for annulment.’ The case number is T-670/16.
The case is being brought in the Luxembourg-based General Court – the lower court of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) – which on Thursday (27 October) confirmed to Reuters that the advocacy group sought the annulment of Privacy Shield decision.
Individuals or companies may challenge EU acts before the EU courts if they are directly concerned within two months of the act coming into force. However, don’t hold your breath; it’s expected to be at least a year before the court makes any ruling on the challenge.