BUSINESSEUROPE INPUT IN VIEW OF THE REVISION OF SAFE HARBOR

In the context of the current review of Safe Harbor, BUSINESSEUROPE urges the Commission  to maintain the framework in place and strengthen its security at the same time. Safe Harbor is a key instrument to transfer personal data from the EU to the US. Some of its elements, such as enforcement  and  scope,  must  be  revised.  Encryption  and  other  technical  solutions  could  be encouraged to make Safe Harbor safer, but must not be made mandatory.

Transparency must be ensured and companies should be able to disclose to whatextent they share data with public authorities  for  purposes  of  national  security. 

The  recent  developments  about  government surveillance have damaged citizens’ trust and had serious negative implications for companies  and  for  the  digital  economy  as  a  whole. 

Governments  must  ensure  a  proper  balance  between national security and respect of citizens’ fundamental rights. However, the debate on the scope and  implications  of  mass  surveillance  activities  from  national  governments  needs  a  much broader political solution that goes beyond Safe Harbor.