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Looking at Europe from the USA: Current perspectives on data protection
Journal of Data Protection & Privacy,
1
(1),
76-88
(2016)
Abstract
US and EU privacy laws are very different. The USA recognises that a failure to respect privacy can cause consumer harm while noting that commercial interests also carry weight. Historical and cultural influences focus Europe’s privacy rules on citizens’ rights. While European privacy laws are not new, there are frequently some misconceptions in the USA about the EU’s approach to privacy. In addition, it is only relatively recently that EU data protection rules have started to have a noticeable impact on US commerce. Interestingly, this impact is felt more as a result of commercial contract friction than from the bite of the regulator. US businesses nowadays must pay increased attention to compliance with EU data protection regulations. This paper focuses on the differences between the EU and US privacy landscapes and explores the EU concept of ‘data protection’ and the risk and compliance hurdles it presents. How is EU data protection law viewed from the USA and how can in-house counsel evaluate and adapt to its impact?
Keywords: USA; Europe; perspective; privacy; compliance; risk
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Author's Biography
Mark Webber is a partner and registered foreign legal consultant with the European law firm Fieldfisher. His practice focuses on international technology and internet law. He is a leading contract and regulatory specialist advising on EU based technology transactions, particularly those with a disruptive component. He advises where cloud, digital and online technologies converge and leverage intellectual property and/or data. He spends much of his time assisting with large global data transfer projects, internal information governance and accountability structures, and data protection risk management in the context of EU inward investment.
Trinity Car is a privacy lawyer and adjunct professor at the University of Dayton School of Law. She has extensive experience acting as a privacy deals counsel in a large technology corporate. She has managed global privacy compliance issues within large tech deals and complex bespoke development projects in the pharma space including ensuring notice and transparency, legitimising international data transfers and mapping internal compliance and managing subcontractors. She is a seasoned negotiator and regularly disseminates advice, promotes privacy awareness and creates internal tools to support and design processes for her internal clients.
