A Swiss federal commissioner announced yesterday that a US-Swiss program aimed at protecting personal information exchanged between the two countries is not performing to its full potential, while downgrading the US by placing it on a list of countries that lack adequate and strong privacy and personal data protection .
Federal data protection and information commissioner Adrian Lobsiger , in a new policy document, recommends that Swiss companies as well as the country's government disclose personal data to the US only if people are guaranteed protection from "indiscriminate" US authorities
Lobsiger’s paper follows a regular review of the three-year-old US-Swiss program, known as “Privacy Shield,” with its recommendations following similar concerns raised by EU authorities about an alleged lack of privacy protections in the US. Switzerland is not a member of the EU, but it often endorses positions taken by its members.
In July, the EU’s top court ruled that the “Privacy Shield” program with the US was invalid because the US government can track people’s data. This complicates business decisions for around 5,000 companies, including tech giants and financial firms. The EU ruling followed a case in which an Austrian activist, Max Schrems, complained about Facebook.
The Swiss commissioner said the US should be classified as a country that offers inadequate privacy protection, downgrading the US from its previous ranking of “adequate in some circumstances.” The US is now ranked alongside countries such as Russia, China, Cuba, Japan and most African and Latin American countries. At the same time, most European countries are considered to have adequate privacy protection. The recommendations do not have the force of law, but could influence decisions by corporate leaders or government officials about whether to share private information about Swiss residents and citizens. However, only a court could have the final say on this.
The “Privacy Shield” program focuses on the exchange of data between companies and on guarantees provided by US authorities to protect personal data exchanged between countries, in particular with the bulk collection of data of citizens outside the US, to prevent terrorism and protect national security.
