Recent Developments in the Trans-Atlantic Processing and Shipment of Personal Data for Research Purposes

The European Union (“EU”) General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and its effect on research activities was the first topic addressed by the R3 at its initial meetings in 2018. In the four years since those meetings, there have been many developments that have continued to cause complications for trans-Atlantic research. These have included, among others, the invalidation of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield in June 2020 by the Schrems II decision, Brexit, the release in 2021 of new Standard Contractual Clauses by the European Commission, and the introduction of data transfer impact assessments as a prerequisite for many cross-border transfers of personal data.

On March 25, 2022, the European Commission and the United States announced that they have agreed in principle on a new Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework, intended to foster trans-Atlantic data flows and address the concerns raised by the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Schrems II decision. The discussion at the convened R3 considered these recent developments and identified potential solutions to ease trans-Atlantic research while complying with GDPR.

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