In brief: The EDPB is demanding that the European Commission conduct a legal review of the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, as a key precondition of the underlying adequacy decision is said to no longer be met.
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has officially called on the European Commission to initiate a legal review of the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. The reason is the lapse of key preconditions on which the underlying adequacy decision is based.
The EDPB has called on the European Commission to conduct a legal review of the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF). The background is that the use of US IT products involving data transfers to the US is based on an adequacy decision by the European Commission, which forms the basis for the permissibility of such data transfers. According to the EDPB’s assessment, a key precondition of this decision has since lapsed, calling the legal basis of the DPF into question.
For compliance officers at companies using US cloud and IT services, this development is of immediate relevance. Should the European Commission no longer be able to confirm the adequacy of the level of data protection in the US, or should the adequacy decision be suspended or withdrawn, the central legal basis for many cross-border data transfers would cease to exist. Companies would then have to rely on alternative transfer mechanisms such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), along with additional review and documentation obligations.
The EDPB’s current initiative is part of a longer history of legal disputes over the lawfulness of transatlantic data transfers, which has already led to the invalidation of earlier agreements (Safe Harbor, Privacy Shield). Compliance teams should monitor the further progress of the European Commission’s review and, as a precaution, assess which current data transfers to the US rely on the DPF, in order to be able to switch to alternative legal bases on short notice in the event of a suspension or withdrawal.
Source: borncity.com · Published August 5, 2026
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