EU’s Highest Court Hears Case on the Validity of the EU Standard Contractual Clauses

EU’s Highest Court Hears Case on the Validity of the EU Standard Contractual Clauses

July 17, 2019, Covington Alert

On July 9, 2019, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) heard oral argument in Case C-311/18, Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland and Maximillian Schrems (“Schrems II”). The primary question before the ECJ is whether the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses (“SCCs”) are valid for transfers of personal data to the United States.1 Given the widespread reliance on the SCCs for data transfers to the United States and other countries around the world, the ECJ’s judgment is likely to have significant ramifications for many organizations.