US Cloud soon illegal? Trump punches first hole in EU-US Data Deal

23 January 2025

Since the Snowden disclosures we know that the US engages in mass surveillance of EU users by scooping up personal data from US Big Tech. The "Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board" (PCLOB) is the key US oversight authority for these laws. US media now reports, that Democratic members of the PCLOB got removed and their email accounts shut down. This brings the number of appointed Members below the threshold to have the PCLOB operate. The fact that the US President simply removed people from an (allegedly) independent authority, question the independence of all other executive redress bodies in the US.

The European Union has relied on these US boards and tribunals to find that the US provides "adequate" protection of personal data. Relying on the PCLOB and other mechanisms, the EU Commission allows European personal data to flow freely to the US in the so-called "Transatlantic Data Privacy Framework" (TADPF). The PCLOB is the only relevant "oversight" element of the deal. Other elements are just acting as recourse bodies. Thousands of EU businesses, government agencies or schools rely on these provisions. Without the TADPF, they would need to stop using US cloud providers like Apple, Google, Microsoft or Amazon instantly.

continua qui: https://noyb.eu/en/us-cloud-soon-illegal-trump-punches-first-hole-eu-us-data-deal