Swiss-US Privacy Shield Agreement Starts Accepting Self-Certification Applications

The Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, which outlines the transfer and protection of personal data of Swiss citizens to American companies (see 1701110012) similar to the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, launched its self-certification process, said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a Wednesday evening news release. He said the agreement will support U.S. economic growth and called it a "prime example" of the department facilitating data flows and high privacy standards to ensure a strong foundation for the digital economy. Nearly 2,000 companies have self-certified under the EU-U.S. agreement, which opened for business in August. The first review will occur in September and some EU officials have expressed serious concerns about that framework (see 1703310003 and 1704060013).