US Privacy Program for Bridging the Gap
Question
There is a large gap between the privacy laws of the United States and those of the European Union.
Bridging this gap is necessary for American companies to do business with European companies and in European markets in many situations, as the American companies are required to comply with the stricter requirements.
Which US program was designed to help companies overcome these differences?
Answers
Explanations
Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer
A. B. C. D.D.
The Safe Harbor regulations were developed by the Department of Commerce and are meant to serve as a way to bridge the gap between privacy regulations of the European Union and the United States.
Due to the lack of adequate privacy laws and protection on the federal level in the US, European privacy regulations generally prohibit the exporting of PII from Europe to the United States.
Participation in the Safe Harbor program is voluntary on the part of US organizations.
These organizations must conform to specific requirements and policies that mirror those from the EU, thus possibly fulfilling the EU requirements for data sharing and export.
This way, American businesses can be allowed to serve customers in the EU.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) pertains to the protection of patient medical records and privacy.
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) focuses on the use of PII within financial institutions.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) regulates the financial and accounting practices used by organizations in order to protect shareholders from improper practices and errors.
The answer to the question is D. Safe Harbor.
Safe Harbor was a program developed by the United States Department of Commerce in cooperation with the European Commission. Its purpose was to bridge the gap between the privacy laws of the United States and those of the European Union, which differ significantly in their approach to protecting personal information.
Under the Safe Harbor program, U.S. companies could voluntarily self-certify that they complied with certain principles and guidelines for protecting personal information. If a company self-certified and complied with the principles, then it could transfer personal data from the EU to the U.S. without violating EU data protection laws. The program was designed to provide a streamlined way for U.S. companies to comply with EU data protection laws, which are more stringent than U.S. data protection laws.
However, in 2015, the European Court of Justice invalidated the Safe Harbor program, stating that it did not provide adequate protection for personal data, particularly in light of the Snowden revelations about U.S. government surveillance. The EU and U.S. negotiated a new agreement, called the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, which replaced Safe Harbor in 2016. However, the Privacy Shield was also invalidated by the European Court of Justice in 2020.
Therefore, currently, U.S. companies that wish to transfer personal data from the EU to the U.S. must rely on other mechanisms, such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs), to ensure that they comply with EU data protection laws.
