Madras High Court: No Appeal Lies Against E-Court Status or Adjournment Orders  ||  Chhattisgarh HC: Judicial Officer Promotion Cannot be Denied on Complaint Without Disciplinary Action  ||  Delhi High Court: January 1 as Deemed Service Date For Delhi and Andaman Civil and Police Officers  ||  Delhi High Court: Private Media Houses Performing Public Functions are Subject to Writ Jurisdiction  ||  Rajasthan High Court Orders Registration of Pets That May Pose a Threat to Human Life  ||  Delhi High Court: NSE Qualifies as a Public Authority under the RTI Act  ||  Bombay High Court: Sikh Exemption From Helmet Rule is a Reasonable Classification under Article 14  ||  Supreme Court: Advocate Cannot Enter a Compromise Without the Client’s Authorisation  ||  Calcutta High Court: State Must Protect Every Accused From Mob Violence  ||  Supreme Court: Gujarat Municipal Election Candidates Must Disclose Their Spouses’ Assets    

ECJ: Safe Harbour not safe from US intelligence - (06 Oct 2015)

Human Rights

In a case where an Austrian citizen complained against his personal data on popular social networking website ‘Facebook’ being shifted from servers in Ireland to the United States of America, the European Court of Justice passed a scathing judgment against American snooping on users’ personal data. Referring to American Safe Harbour Privacy Principles that envisage a policy and process for government authorities to seek access to personal information stored in the country received from the European Union, the Court opined that United States public authorities were not required to comply with them; national security, public interest and statutes created conflicting obligations, which were likely to be given precedence over data privacy. Moreover, those affected by such government interference had no means of redress. Short of ordering a return of European users’ data back to European servers, the Court directed Irish authorities to determine if American laws afforded sufficient protection of personal data to Facebook’s European subscribers. However, any adverse finding is likely to affect all web companies that signed up to the Safe Harbour Principles.

Tags : SAFE HARBOUR   DATA PRIVACY   OFFSHORE   SERVER  

Share :        

Disclaimer | Copyright 2026 - All Rights Reserved