The Stream

#SafeHarbor: EU ruling takes on US surveillance

Court cancels transatlantic data transfer agreement over NSA spying concerns.

Internet privacy advocates are celebrating a decision by the EU’s top court to cancel a data-sharing pact with the United States.

On Tuesday, the European Court of Justice declared the fifteen year-old “Safe Harbour” agreement invalid, citing concerns that the privacy of European citizens could be compromised when their data is transferred to the US. 

The decision was spurred by a complaint filed by Austrian law graduate Max Schrems, who argued Facebook violated his privacy by allowing the NSA to access user information.

Many Twitter users on both sides of the Atlantic celebrated the ruling: