LUXEMBOURG: The European Union's top court on Tuesday ruled that a key transatlantic data sharing deal relied on by companies such as Facebook was invalid in the light of spying revelations in the Edward Snowden scandal.
In a major blow to US tech firms, the court said the 2000 "Safe Harbour" agreement between the United States and the EU did not sufficiently guarantee the protection of Europeans' personal data and must be struck out.
The stunning decision stems from a David-and-Goliath complaint against social media giant Facebook lodged against Irish authorities by Max Schrems, an Austrian law student privacy campaigner.
"The Court of Justice declares that the (European) Commission's US Safe Harbour Decision is invalid," the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg said in its three-page judgment.
The court said Irish authorities now had to decide whether transfer of data from Facebook's European subscribers to the United States should be suspended "on the ground that that country does not afford an adequate level of protection of personal data."
"YAY," Schrems tweeted after the judgment.
He later said in a statement that the decision was a "milestone when it comes to online privacy."
"It clarifies that mass surveillance violates our fundamental rights. This decision is a major blow for US global surveillance that heavily relies on private partners," he said.
Schrems filed the case against Ireland's data protection authority because Facebook's European headquarters are based there.
Major US web giants including Facebook and Apple have set up headquarters in Ireland to take advantage of favourable tax laws. Facebook data is then transferred to servers in the United States.
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