In a landmark decision, The Court of Justice of the European Union recently invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, the framework that facilitated transfers of personal data from the European Union to the United States for thousands of companies. It also imposed qualifications on the use of Standard Contractual Clauses, the most popular cross-border transfer mechanism.
The court cited the breadth of National Security Agency surveillance programs (in connection with FISA Section 702 and Executive Order 12333) and the lack of redress for European individuals in connection with such surveillance of their personal data.