Big tech blackout set to be averted with EU-U.S. data pact

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new data-transfer agreement with the U.S. “balancing security, the right to privacy and data protection.” The European Union and U.S. broke the deadlock on a new data-transfer pact, potentially avoiding a doomsday scenario for tech giants such as Meta Platforms and thousands of other firms that rely on free flows of information across the Atlantic. This new pact will “enable predictable and trustworthy data flows, balancing security, the right to privacy and data protection,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a tweet. This time, the U.S. said it’s made “unprecedented commitments,” addressing the EU court’s concerns, including: Strengthening the privacy and civil liberties safeguards governing U.S. signals intelligence actions. Privacy advocate Max Schrems has been challenging Facebook in the Irish courts — where the social media company has its European base — arguing that EU citizens’ data are are at risk upon transfer to the U.S. Schrems said on Friday he’s not convinced that the new draft accord would solve the problems of the previous ones and questioned the timing of the announcement.