US Supreme Court ruling threatens EU-US data transfers
A new US Supreme Court ruling questions the independence of the FTC, undermining a key legal pillar of the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF) according to privacy group noyb.
Max Schrems argues that the European Commission relied on the FTC’s independence hundreds of times, meaning the legal basis for unrestricted EU-US personal data transfers has been seriously weakened. While the DPF remains legally in force for now, SCCs and BCRs may also come under renewed scrutiny because their transfer impact assessments rely on the same US oversight mechanisms.
noyb has formally urged the European Commission to withdraw the adequacy decision and plans to challenge the DPF before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). If successful, the case could accelerate Europe’s push for digital sovereignty, encouraging organizations to reduce dependence on US cloud providers and strengthen EU-based data processing.