Introduction:
The European Commission’s Directive on Data Protection went into effect in October of 1998, and would prohibit the transfer of personal data to non-European Union nations that do not meet the European “adequacy” standard for privacy protection. While the United States and the European Union share the goal of enhancing privacy protection for their citizens, the United States takes a different approach to privacy from that taken by the European Union.
In order to bridge these different privacy approaches and provide a streamlined means for U.S. organizations to comply with the Directive, the U.S. Department of Commerce in consultation with the European Commission developed a "Safe Harbor" framework and this website to provide the information an organization should need to evaluate – and then join – the Safe Harbor.
To get started, use the following two links:
October Conference:
The Department of Commerce will host a “Conference on Cross Border Data Flows, Data Protection, and Privacy” in Washington, DC on October 15 and 16. For further information, please refer to our News & Events section.
