Microsoft: Privacy Shield is good

The new EU-US Safe Harbor agreement, Privacy Shield, is a step in the right direction for transatlantic transfers of personal data, but it's not enough by itself, according to Microsoft. The firm's EU government affairs VP John Frank is upbeat about the yet to be finalized agreement, a draft of which was published by the US in February, following President Obama's signing of the Judicial Redress Act.

That Act offers some protections for Europeans when data is transferred to the US and used by law enforcement.

However, Max Schrems, the Austrian who brought down the Safe Harbor data-transfer agreement, isn't impressed by Privacy Shield and thinks it will probably suffer the same fate as its predecessor if challenged in court.

European data-protection authorities are still reviewing the draft document, but in a post on Monday, Frank said Microsoft is backing the agreement in its current form and has pledged to "sign up" for Privacy Shield when it is implemented.