European Court of Justice to arbitrate in Facebook privacy row
The European Court of Justice is to weigh in on a rumbling privacy debate which has been taxing minds across the continent, by decreeing how much data pertaining to EU citizens can be shared with US tech giants such as Facebook and Google.
It follows ongoing repercussions from a series of leaks by whistle blower Edward Snowden, who lifted the lid on the extent of US spying on EU allies, sometimes in cahoots with technology firms.
Current discussions centre around the so-called Safe Harbour agreement which sanctioned the collection of user data in return for guarantees around security and storage. A series of principles guide this process such as notifying users when their data is being collected and being transparent about how the data can be accessed and by whom.
Quoting a spokesman for the UK data regulator the Wall Street Journal reported that if Safe Harbour were to be torn up completely, it would "have quite serious effects... risking disruption of trade that carries significant benefit for the EU and its citizens".
Much of the work of the court will be spent deciding whether this arrangement is still fit for purpose.