Region: North America

The U.S. government does not protect the privacy rights of non-citizens beyond its borders. That’s the message it will deliver at the U.N. Human Rights Council tomorrow in its official response to the 348 recommendations received during the second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the U.S. human rights record in Geneva.

Today Yves Bot, Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), released his opinion in the EU-US Safe Harbor case, which addresses a controversial transatlantic data sharing agreement. Advocate General Bot recommends that the Court rule to recognise the duty of national data protection authorities to conduct independent assessment of the Safe Harbor in light of evidence of abuses brought by the Snowden’s revelations. Based on a large number of hearings, AG Bot considers European Commission’s earlier decision, holding that the protection of personal data in the United States is adequate, to be invalid.

Negotiators from the United States and the European Union recently reached a preliminary deal on the so-called Umbrella Agreement, a transatlantic deal that sets standards for protecting personal data when it is transferred for law enforcement purposes. However, one key hurdle remains before the agreement will get sign off: the U.S. must grant a right to remedy for E.U. citizens who suffer privacy violations. It remains to be seen whether the U.S. will follow through on providing that protection, and whether it will be meaningful enough to meet E.U. standards.