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News 11.10.2015

Max Schrems vs. Facebook

In the multi-year dispute between law student Max Schrems and Facebook, the European Court of Justice has reached a verdict that is not only important for numerous Internet giants like Facebook and Google but also concerns every individual Facebook user: European user data may now no longer be stored in the United States per se. The “safe harbor” agreement between the EU and United States is thereby eliminated.

In 2011, Schrems requested information about the storage of his personal data
from Facebook and sued the US company. He had argued that the United States could not guarantee adequate protection of European data from intelligence services. The ECJ has now agreed with this assessment.
The decision has implications for 4400 US companies that store European data in the United States.
It remains to be seen whether Internet giants like Google, Amazon or Facebook will now be forced to operate data centers in the EU for the storage of European data in the future.