Safe Harbor invalidated – What next?

In a landmark decision of the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) following a request for a preliminary ruling by the Irish High Court, on 6 October 2015, Safe Harbor was invalidated and the European Data Protection Authorities’ investigation powers were strengthened significantly. Currently, it is not yet certain how data transfers to the US and potentially even other unsafe third countries can be justified in future. We take a closer look at the court decision, the national regulators’ response and current legislative process in the US.