Security News > 2021 > February > Brussels Okays EU-UK Personal Data Flows

The European Commission lifted the threat of crucial data flows between Europe and Britain being blocked in a move that would have crippled business activity as it said Friday that privacy safeguards in the UK met European standards.

In a key post-Brexit decision, the EU executive said that British authorities had sufficient measures in place to protect European users' personal data, freeing up data transfers for businesses as well as for police.

The adequacy decision, to be formally adopted by the 27 member states, would ensure that data protection will "Never be compromised when personal data travel across the Channel," said EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders.

The EU currently has data adequacy agreements with 12 countries, including Japan, Switzerland and Canada and negotiations are underway with South Korea.

The security of personal data has become a sensitive issue, with the EU's top court having struck down a similar arrangement between the EU and United States.

Max Schrems, an Austrian lawyer and activist who led the fight against the EU's data arrangements with the US, tweeted that there were issues with the UK proposal on security that will require "Deep analysis".

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