Lynch scolds EU over privacy law

Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Wednesday warned European lawmakers that a privacy law under consideration could hamper efforts to combat terrorism by restricting the flow of information.

“It is highly concerning to us that data privacy legislation advancing in the European Parliament might further restrict transatlantic information sharing,” Lynch said.

{mosads}The action, she said, ignores “the critical need for that information sharing to fight terrorism and transnational crime” and “the enormous steps forward that the Obama administration and Congress have taken to protect privacy.”

The European Parliament and member states are currently negotiating a sweeping new data protection law governing how citizens’ data is handled and transferred and beefing up enforcement mechanisms.

Lynch also chided the European Court of Justice for its recent decision to strike down a commercial data flow pact between the U.S. and the EU. The court cited U.S. surveillance practices in its decision, claiming that American companies could not be seen to adequately protect European citizens’ personal information.

Lynch condemned the decision as “based on inaccurate and outdated media reports.”

The U.S. has struggled to rebuild its relationship with the EU after ex-National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed the breadth of U.S. spying on its allies. Data privacy is considered a fundamental right under the EU Charter.

Negotiators in September finalized an “umbrella agreement” that would allow the two sides to exchange more data during criminal and terrorism investigations.

But the agreement is on hold pending U.S. legislation extending the right to seek legal redress for privacy violations to European citizens. European negotiators have said that without such legislation, the agreement is a no-go.

A recent spate of terrorist attacks, including the assaults in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., have sparked calls for increased cooperation among governments across the Atlantic.

The U.S. is working with both INTERPOL and EUROPOL to share information on foreign fighters and has have crafted information-sharing agreements with 45 international partners to identify and track suspected terrorists, Lynch said Wednesday.  

“Online, violent ideologies can rapidly proliferate and spread and threats can leap borders and oceans in an instant. No country can imagine themselves immune from world events and the security of each state increasingly depends on the security of all states,” she said.