Transatlantic Dialogue Series: Reawakening Digital Trade Between the United States and the European Union

Image above (from left): David Snead, Corinne Schulze, Geneviéve Tuts, and Alexander Rabe in Brussels

The Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) and eco: the Association of the Internet Industry (eco) collaborated on an important and timely two-part discussion series this year: “Reawakening Digital Trade.” This series brought together the Internet industry’s leading associations from the United States and Europe to engage stakeholders in a dialogue about the challenges of contrasting data privacy frameworks in the U.S. and EU. A framework for managing the differences existed in the form of an EU-U.S. Privacy Shield. However, in July 2020, the European Court of Justice ruled, in a case known as Schrems II, that the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield did not adequately address privacy issues created by U.S. government surveillance and, as a result, did not meet the GDPR requirement of adequacy. Both organizations have been advocating for a replacement framework ever since. 

In March 2022, the United States and the European Commission agreed in principle to work on a new E.U.-U.S. Transatlantic Data Privacy Framework to formally replace Privacy Shield as a framework for businesses engaged in trans-Atlantic digital trade. Both sides touted goals of building a framework that could address concerns raised by the European Court of Justice in the Schrems II decision and achieve long-term stability in transatlantic data flows. i2Coalition and eco collaborated on these two sessions to investigate these goals while highlighting the overall importance of being able to achieve them.

Reawakening Digital Trade Session 1: Washington D.C., U.S. A.

On October 6, 2022, key individuals in government, industry, and academia convened at American University in Washington, D.C., for the first part of the Transatlantic Dialogue Series, a roundtable discussion on the future of transatlantic data flows and privacy titled “Reawakening Digital Trade: Diverse Stakeholder Considerations Around The Future of the U.S.-EU Data Privacy Framework.” 

The panel and audience of this discussion were made up of senior officials from the U.S. government, data protection experts, Internet industry leaders, partner associations, and diverse voices from across civil society. Federal government officials provided a detailed overview of the intensive, lengthy negotiations leading up to the release of an Executive Order designed to replace Privacy Shield. The panel then engaged in an interactive discussion about expectations for the EU review of the Order and the implementation timeframe for the new framework. The timing was significant: the following day, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order to implement the European Union-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (EU-US DPF). 

“It was a perfect fit that we were holding the event in Washington only one day before US President Biden signed the Executive Order to implement the new EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework,” said David Snead, one of the panelists. “The insights we gained on that from the U.S. State Department representative who joined us were just absolutely valuable.” This event was presented in conjunction with the Washington DC Chapter of the Internet Society and the Inclusive Tech Policy Initiative at American University.

The panel consisted of:

• Catherine Stihler (CEO, Creative Commons)
• Kate Charlet (Director for Data Governance, Google)
• David Snead (General Counsel at cPanel and co-founder of i2Coalition)
• Ruth Berry (Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Information and Communications Policy, Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, U.S Department of State)
• Alissa Starzak (Vice President and Global Head of Public Policy, Cloudflare)
• Oliver J. Süme (Chair of the Board at eco and partner at event co-sponsor fieldfisher)

“The exchange of data between the EU and US economy is a key success factor for transatlantic trade relations,” said Süme. “Consequently, we also need to discuss the legal framework for this data exchange with stakeholders from both sides of the pond—in particular in the light of the Schrems II decision of the European Court of Justice.”

You can watch Part 1 of the Transatlantic Dialogue Series here:

Reawakening Digital Trade Session 2: Brussels, Belgium

On December 6, 2022, key individuals in government, industry, and academia convened in Brussels, Belgium, to resume the two-part dialogue started in Washington. This part of the series was titled “Reawakening Digital Trade – Part II: The Future of the Transatlantic Data Privacy Framework.”

The Brussels panel consisted of:

• Alexander Rabe (Managing Director, eco)
• Geneviéve Tuts (Head of Cabinet, European Commission)
• Iverna McGowan (Director, Europe Office of the Center for Democracy and Technology)
• David Snead (General Counsel at cPanel and co-founder of i2Coalition)
• Corinna Schulze (Senior Director of EU Government Affairs, SAP)

You can watch Part 2 of the Transatlantic Dialogue Series here:

Takeaways from both sessions:

After the publication of the U.S. Executive Order, the EU Commission has begun working on an implementing act to acknowledge the U.S. EO. The procedures should be finalized in Spring 2023. Both organizations continue to follow this process as it continues and to engage with stakeholders such as the ones who met with us in D.C. and Brussels.

The decisions of major governments, like the U.S. or the EU, on issues such as digital privacy and surveillance have a dramatic impact on digital trade, the global economy, and the Internet businesses that fuel it. The digital futures of the U.S. and EU are inextricably linked—and with more European legislation in the pipeline, it’s crucial for those who are building the Internet to make their voices heard. By working together, members of i2Coalition and eco can help to ensure that Internet-related policies and regulations consider the concerns of Internet infrastructure providers so that the Internet can remain an open and powerful tool for communication, collaboration, and innovation.