Giulia Keese Montanhesi
Lawyer at Marcos Martins Advogados
Case C-311/18, involving the Data Protection Commissioner, Facebook and Maximillian Schrems, was referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union by the High Court of Ireland. It discussed the validity of standard contractual clauses as a mechanism for international data transfers under the GDPR and the validity of the EU-US Privacy Shield , a regulation created to regulate exchanges of personal data between the European Union and the United States for commercial purposes.
The decision handed down by the Court of Justice of the European Union stated that the protections guaranteed by the Privacy Shield system are not adequate, especially in view of the surveillance programs conducted by the US, which in recent years have proved to be used beyond what is necessary. This decision has the potential to change the dynamics of data protection as a whole, not just in the US or Europe, but internationally.
It is also important to mention the statement made by US Secretary of State Wilbur Ross, who said that the US could be extremely harmed by the decision and that he would seek to limit the negative consequences for transatlantic trade, which is currently worth around U$7.1 trillion.
