New Cyber Brief: Transatlantic Data Transfers: The Slow-Motion Crisis

The Digital and Cyberspace Policy program has launched a new Cyber Brief. In this brief, Atlantic Council Senior Fellow and Georgetown University Law Center Adjunct Professor Kenneth Propp argues that in the wake of the Shrems II decision, which threw the future of transatlantic data flows into doubt, the United States should develop a strategy to address the European Union (EU)’s concerns about U.S. privacy protections and promote cooperation with other democracies.

Here's the introduction:

Data transfers are at the heart of the robust transatlantic economy, but they have long been plagued by Europe’s doubts about privacy protections in the United States.

The economic stakes are high. Information and communications technology (ICT) services such as social networks and cloud service providers depend on cross-border data transfers, as do other services that can be delivered over ICT networks, including engineering, software, design, and finance. Although trade in digital services is hard to measure precisely, it has become one of the fastest-growing areas for the United States internationally. In 2017, digital services constituted 55 percent of U.S. services exports, yielding 68 percent of the U.S. global surplus in services trade, according to a transatlantic trade study [PDF]. U.S. exports of digital services to Europe that year amounted to $204.2 billion, generating a surplus of more than $80 billion. The transatlantic is the world’s largest area for digital trade.

In order to maintain and expand this trade, U.S. policymakers should develop a strategy to address the EU’s concerns and promote cooperation with other democracies at a multilateral forum, such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, to develop a shared legal framework for government access to personal data.

You can read the full brief here.