The European Commission is working with the United States on the final details of a commercial data-sharing deal that was put up for renegotiation following leaks two years ago that exposed U.S. mass surveillance practices, a document seen by Reuters showed.
The European Commission, the EU executive, has been negotiating with the United States since January 2014 to reform an existing agreement allowing companies to transfer data easily between the two areas, known as “Safe Harbour”.
The data-sharing deal originally dates from 2000, but the Commission called for a review in 2013 after former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden leaked details about U.S. spying practices targeting European citizens and some heads of state.
Brussels has demanded guarantees from the United States that the collection of EU citizens’ data for national security purposes would be limited to what is necessary and proportionate. It has made this a condition for not scrapping Safe Harbour legal protection, which facilitates the everyday business activities of some 4,000 companies, both European and American.
Under the new deal, U.S. registered companies will face stricter rules when transferring data to third parties.
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