PRESS RELEASE [Brussels, 28th March 2022, contact: [email protected]] Allied for Startups welcomes the latest development of a political breakthrough on a new “Privacy Shield” data transfer agreement between the US and EU. 

The invalidation of the Privacy Shield in July 2020 presented a difficult scenario for the 5,300 companies using it, especially startups, who were forced to use complex data transfer mechanisms like Standard Contractual Clauses with limited resources. 

Speaking about the release, Allied For Startups CEO Melissa Blaustein said: “We applaud successful transatlantic talks on the US-EU Privacy Shield and the promise of a data transfer agreement that startups and scale-ups can use in full respect of fundamental rights of European and American citizens.”

At the same time, in order to avoid any future legal uncertainty around the new agreement, Blaustein added: “A legally robust and reliable framework to transfer personal data is vital for startups. The proposed mechanisms will hopefully provide for such certainty”

A thriving global startup ecosystem relies on a secure and trustworthy data transfer mechanism. It levels the playing field for smaller actors that do not have large legal budgets to dedicate to more complicated transfer tools. We hope that this new agreement can serve as a basis for multilateral relations in the tech and digital spheres amongst like-minded democratic governments.   

Allied for Startups is a worldwide network of over 40 advocacy organisations focused on improving the policy environment for startups. Our mission is to ensure that the voices of startups are heard in government. For more information on Allied for Startups including a full list of our network, visit the website at www.alliedforstartups.org

You can find the PDF here.