FC: Cato study says US-EU "safe harbor" future is in peril

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Tue Oct 30 2001 - 09:20:27 PST

  • Next message: Declan McCullagh: "FC: Filtering software fans complain that -- they're being filtered!"

    ---------- Forwarded message ----------
    Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2001 12:16:19 -0500
    From: Aaron Lukas <aaronlat_private>
    To: declanat_private
    Subject: New Privacy Paper
    
    Declan:
    
    Although it (sadly) has nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism, my paper on
    U.S.-EU privacy disputes was published today by Cato. Interested Politech
    readers can find it online at:
    
    http://www.freetrade.org/pubs/pas/tpa-016es.html
    
    The press release follows.
    
    Regards,
    Aaron Lukas
    Cato Institute
    
    ------------------
    October 30, 2001
    
    Safe Harbor Agreement Faces Uncertain Future
    Few participants, limited enforcement, Cato study finds
    
    The EU-U.S. Safe Harbor agreement seeks to bridge differences between the
    Europe Union's top-down approach to regulating personal data and the more
    decentralized system that prevails in the United States. Specifically, the
    agreement is intended to head off a potentially costly ban by the EU on the
    transfer of personal information--such as people's names, addresses,
    birthdays, and buying habits--to the United States, which, according to the
    EU, lacks "adequate" data protection. In a new trade policy analysis, "Safe
    Harbor or Stormy Waters? Living with the EU Data Protection Directive,"
    Aaron Lukas, an analyst at the Cato Institute's Center for Trade Policy
    Studies, concludes that, "Although Safe Harbor is still in its infancy, its
    survival is already in doubt."
    
    Only a handful of U.S. businesses have joined Safe Harbor--a list of
    companies maintained by the U.S. Department of Commerce that are assumed to
    provide adequate data protection, as defined by the EU Data Protection
    Directive. Lukas cites numerous reasons why this is true:
    
    * Many of the businesses are simply unaware of the agreement
    
    * European officials have made only limited efforts to enforce EU privacy
    law
    
    * The Safe Harbor principles are more restrictive and expensive than
    accepted U.S. privacy practices
    
    * Some firms believe that it may be easier for them to enter into privacy
    contracts with their European partners than to join Safe Harbor
    
    Compounding its problems, Safe Harbor faces internal European disputes over
    the legitimacy of the agreement, as well as concern on the U.S. side that
    national sovereignty has been compromised by the agreement. In addition,
    Safe Harbor does not cover U.S. financial institutions.
    
    Given the weakness of Safe Harbor, Lukas recommends that U.S. policymakers
    consider what they will do if the agreement collapses. While recognizing
    that Europe has the right to set its own privacy policies, he says, U.S.
    officials should be vigilant in holding Europe to its existing free trade
    commitments. Moreover, Congress should not give in to pressure--either
    international or domestic--to change U.S. privacy laws. "American
    policymakers should recognize the many advantages that flow from a
    market-based privacy regime and not be bullied into adopting EU-style
    privacy regulations, " Lukas concludes. "Safe Harbor should not be abandoned
    today, but neither should it be counted on as a secure port in future
    privacy storms."
    
    Trade Policy Analysis no. 16
    (http://www.freetrade.org/pubs/pas/tpa-016es.html)
    
    Contact:  Elizabeth L. Dixon, Communications Assistant, Center for Trade
    Policy Studies, 202-789-5264
    
    
    
    
    
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list
    You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice.
    Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/
    To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html
    This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Oct 30 2001 - 09:55:19 PST