US-EU data-sharing pact set to take effect

Members of the European Union (EU) on Friday approved the final version of the Privacy Shield, a pact between the EU and the US that sets the terms for trans-Atlantic transfers of personal data. The EU Commission will formally adopt the agreement on Tuesday.

Lawmakers provisionally agreed to the Privacy Shield in February, after months of negotiating an agreement to replace Safe Harbor, the data-sharing agreement declared "invalid" by the European Court of Justice in October. Safe Harbor came under scrutiny after the Edward Snowden disclosures raised new concerns about the US' mass surveillance practices.

Not all EU Member States voted in favor of Privacy Shield -- Austria, Slovenia, Bulgaria, and Croatia all abstained, sources told Reuters. Austria and Slovenia have said the pact does not go far enough to secure the privacy of their citizens.