Security News > 2020 > July > Top Court Scraps EU-US Data Pact in New Blow to Brussels
A crucial online data arrangement between Europe and the US was invalidated on Thursday, as a top EU court decision over Facebook threw trans-Atlantic big tech into legal limbo.
Schrems' legal assault began after revelations by Edward Snowden of mass digital spying by US agencies, which the EU court at the time said were incompatible with European norms on privacy.
The judges at the European Court of Justice, the EU's top court, said that provisions of the pact "Do not grant Europeans actionable rights before the courts against the US authorities."
The case decided on Thursday originally focused on these complex clauses, an EU invention in which companies outside Europe commit to meeting EU laws on data and privacy.
The court said these were backed up by GDPR, the EU's strict rules on data privacy that can result in massive fines to companies.