Opinion: The end of Privacy Shield spells trouble for Brexit Britain

The European Court of Justice has ruled to invalidate the EU-US Privacy Shield agreement on data sharing. Research Associate Oliver Patel (UCL European Institute) explains why this could hamper EU-US data flows and be a problem for Brexit Britain. For the past 20 years the European Commission has invested much political capital in ensuring that data can flow freely from the EU to the US. On July 16, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled to invalidate the EU-US Privacy Shield agreement on data sharing, on the grounds that the US is not a safe haven for EU citizens' data due to disproportionate surveillance practices. That is a hammer blow to the Commission, and a monumental headache for thousands of US companies. The judgement could hamper EU-US data flows, which underpin digital trade and much economic activity - from emails to clinical trials. It is also a problem for Brexit Britain.