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The data protectionist qualifies the Privacy Shield agreements as inadequate: Swiss companies must ensure security themselves.
Since the revelations by former secret service employee Edward Snowden, there has been transatlantic mistrust when it comes to data protection. Snowden had shown that the US secret service collects and evaluates data from foreign citizens.
To enable the exchange of data between the US and Europe, a so-called Privacy Shield Agreement was offered. The European Court of Justice declared this agreement null and void in the summer after Austrian data protection activist Max Schrems sued Facebook because the platform was unable to protect its data in the United States from US authorities.
The Privacy Shield Agreement is no longer sufficient
Now Switzerland is also reacting to this development. Federal Data and Information Protection Commissioner (FDPIC) Adrian Lobsiger assesses the Privacy Shield Agreement as insufficient to protect personal data. This means that “personal data can no longer be transmitted to the US solely on the basis of this Framework Decision on the Privacy Shield”.
Personal data can no longer be transmitted to the US solely on the basis of the Privacy Shield Framework Decision.
From now on, companies in Switzerland would have to enter into additional agreements with their US partners that guarantee data protection. Or they would have to anonymize or encrypt the data, Lobsiger says.
Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) Adrian Lobsiger.
Keystone / Files
Criticisms of the Swiss-US Chamber of Commerce.
Martin Naville, Director of the Swiss-US Chamber of Commerce, criticizes this: “The FDPIC has now passed the problem on to companies because it does not want to solve the problem on its own. For companies, this means great legal uncertainty about what to do. “
It is better to resolve the problem between the two states institutionally, with an agreement, so Naville. Even if that has already failed twice.
The Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Seco, announced that it would be contacting the US to see if the Privacy Shield Agreement could be improved to comply with Swiss data protection requirements.
Economiesuisse: clear interest in EU compliance
The umbrella economic organization Economiesuisse sees a more urgent problem. Specialist Ivette Djonova comments on the decision of the Federal Data Protection Commissioner to include the US in the list of non-compliant countries: “We will have to follow developments, but we have a clear interest in adapting to the EU in this area “.
Of course, it is very important for the Swiss economy that the EU’s adequacy decision is upheld.
Because the EU has waited until now due to the issue of the Privacy Shield Agreement to continue to define Switzerland as compliant with data protection, Djonova said. This decision must be taken before the end of the year: “Of course, it is very important for the Swiss economy that the EU decision on adequacy is upheld. So that we have a uniform data frame without additional administrative obstacles. “
Apparently the trade association finds it better to accept legal uncertainty in transatlantic data exchange than to resolve another dispute with the EU on the subject of data protection.
