Privacy and data protection issues have been at the heart of many legal debates since the computerization of government databases began sometime in the 1960s. With the rise of the Internet, big data practices, and the democratization of databases, these issues have only multiplied in number, along with the amount of actors in both the public and private sector that are looking to collect, store, and analyze our personal information for a multitude of purposes. This has led to an uneven application of legal and regulatory frameworks amongst various states, each with their own conceptions of how privacy should be traded for broader societal values like national security in the face of terrorist threats. This paper seeks to outline the status quo of these frameworks at the levels of international, EU, and U.S. law in order to address their inadequacies in a modern context. It will then analyze recent international trends regarding privacy and data protection between the EU and the U.S., namely those stemming from the Snowden revelations in 2013 and the subsequent impact of the Schrems decision in 2015. This will culminate in an outlook for the future of EU-U.S. relations regarding privacy and data protection, taking into consideration the glaring disparities that exist between each framework and offering solutions for both public and private actors on what changes may be necessary in order to better align their international interests.

How disputes over privacy and security have shaped the relationship between the European Union and the United States and what this means for the future We live in an interconnected world, where security problems like terrorism are spilling across borders, and globalized data networks and e-commerce platforms are reshaping the world economy. This means that states’ jurisdictions and rule systems clash. How have they negotiated their differences over freedom and security? Of Privacy and Power investigates how the European Union and United States, the two major regulatory systems in world politics, have regulated privacy and security, and how their agreements and disputes have reshaped the transatlantic relationship. The transatlantic struggle over freedom and security has usually been depicted as a clash between a peace-loving European Union and a belligerent United States. Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman demonstrate how this misses the point. The real dispute was between two transnational coalitions—one favoring security, the other liberty—whose struggles have reshaped the politics of surveillance, e-commerce, and privacy rights. Looking at three large security debates in the period since 9/11, involving Passenger Name Record data, the SWIFT financial messaging controversy, and Edward Snowden’s revelations, the authors examine how the powers of border-spanning coalitions have waxed and waned. Globalization has enabled new strategies of action, which security agencies, interior ministries, privacy NGOs, bureaucrats, and other actors exploit as circumstances dictate. The first serious study of how the politics of surveillance has been transformed, Of Privacy and Power offers a fresh view of the role of information and power in a world of economic interdependence.

Since the Snowden revelations, the adoption in May 2016 of the General Data Protection Regulation and several ground-breaking judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union, data protection and privacy are high on the agenda of policymakers, industries and the legal research community. Against this backdrop, Data Protection and Privacy under Pressure sheds light on key developments where individuals’ rights to data protection and privacy are at stake. The book discusses the persistent transatlantic tensions around various EU-US data transfer mechanisms and EU jurisdiction claims over non-EU-based companies, both sparked by milestone court cases. Additionally, it scrutinises the expanding control or surveillance mechanisms and interconnection of databases in the areas of migration control, internal security and law enforcement, and oversight thereon. Finally, it explores current and future legal challenges related to big data and automated decision-making in the contexts of policing, pharmaceutics and advertising.

As technology continues to innovate at lightning speeds and technology becomes more central to everyday life, personal data must be protected. In 2017, the passage of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union set an important precedent in the world of data protection law. Building upon the Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC), the GDPR has taken the fundamental right to privacy and extended it to the transmission of personal data. The United States of America, however, offers no such protection at the federal level - the right to privacy within the U.S. is not absolute. This article will comparatively present the pattern of case law and legislation in the EU that led to the General Data Protection Regulation, and then the pattern of case law and legislation leading to data protection law(s) in the United States of America. The contrasting degrees of protection within the two regimes is a large discrepancy; the collection and transmission of personal data is protected by law in the EU and the US differs to such a degree that companies like Facebook, have had to drastically alter their services in Europe to comply with the stringent requirements of the GDPR. The paper continues on to addresses how personal data protection is being addressed by lawmakers vis-à-vis competition law and anti-trust regulation in the EU. While it may be difficult for the United States to develop a sweeping, federal-level piece of legislation like the GDPR, the increasing success of laws protecting personal data vis-à-vis competition law points to an area in which the U.S. and the E.U. can more easily harmonize their laws and protections. Finally, the paper offers a comment on the future of the transatlantic relationship and the role data protection law could play in strengthening that relationship.

This is the first book-length treatment of the advancement of EU global data flows and digital trade through the framework of European institutionalisation. Drawing on case studies of EU-US, EU-Japan and EU-China relations it charts the theoretical and empirical approaches at play. It illustrates how the EU has pioneered high standards in data flows and how it engages in significant digital trade reforms, committed to those standards. The book marks a major shift in how institutionalisation and the EU should be viewed as it relates to two of the more extraordinary areas of global governance: trade and data flows. This significant book will be of interest to EU constitutional lawyers, as well as those researching in the field of IT and data law.

The internet has created a new global nervous system affecting all aspects of European society, politics and business; this will accelerate as we enter the era of the digitisation of everything. This digital transformation has enormous implications for the transatlantic relationship, especially in light of the differences that have developed concerning the appropriate balance between personal data protection, economic growth and national security. This study details how digital and data issues will be handled in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; explains how this intersects with the new EU-US Privacy Shield Agreement and the broader implications of the judgment on Safe Harbour; and explores key issues in transatlantic law enforcement cooperation before highlighting a few broader foreign policy issues and laying forth some recommendations for the EU institutions.

For many observers, the European Union is mired in a deep crisis. Between sluggish growth; political turmoil following a decade of austerity politics; Brexit; and the rise of Asian influence, the EU is seen as a declining power on the world stage. Columbia Law professor Anu Bradford argues the opposite in her important new book The Brussels Effect: the EU remains an influential superpower that shapes the world in its image. By promulgating regulations that shape the international business environment, elevating standards worldwide, and leading to a notable Europeanization of many important aspects of global commerce, the EU has managed to shape policy in areas such as data privacy, consumer health and safety, environmental protection, antitrust, and online hate speech. And in contrast to how superpowers wield their global influence, the Brussels Effect - a phrase first coined by Bradford in 2012- absolves the EU from playing a direct role in imposing standards, as market forces alone are often sufficient as multinational companies voluntarily extend the EU rule to govern their global operations. The Brussels Effect shows how the EU has acquired such power, why multinational companies use EU standards as global standards, and why the EU's role as the world's regulator is likely to outlive its gradual economic decline, extending the EU's influence long into the future.