German Data Protection Authority Plans to Fine U.S. Companies

By Kelley Chittenden

The Hamburg Data Protection Authority, Johannes Caspar, intends to “crack down” on three companies that allegedly still use the Safe Harbor framework as a legal basis for cross-border data transfers, according to Fortune. While company names have not yet been released, Caspar describes them as “large international companies.” The U.S. and the EU announced an agreement on a new transatlantic data flow, called the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield. Although data protection regulators said they would temporarily delay enforcement actions, there is nothing stopping them from fining companies before Privacy Shield is finalized, should they choose to do so.