Trump Team 'Dispels' EU Doubts on Data Protection Deal

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has "dispelled" doubts over whether it will stand by a hard-won personal data protection accord with Europe struck during Barack Obama's presidency, the EU said Wednesday.

But Brussels said it still wanted Washington to improve on a deal to protect European personal data transferred to the U.S. by internet giants like Google and Facebook.

Last year's deal replaced a previous arrangement struck down by the bloc's top court, leaving the big companies unsure whether they could transfer data without facing a legal challenge.

However, Trump's "America first" policy, which has caused him to back out of agreements sealed by Obama, had raised European Union concerns.

"I can say that my second visit dispelled my doubts whether 'America First' does not mean 'America only'," EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said at a press conference in Brussels.

Jourova said U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and his team, whom she met last month in Washington, "have been very clear about their commitment to the privacy shield."

"And I got the feeling they understood the concerns Europeans have about the transfer of their personal data."

But she acknowledged there was "still some differences" between the two sides over the balance to strike between protecting privacy and ensuring security.

The European Commission, the executive of the 28-nation EU, said the deal "continues to ensure an adequate level of protection" for personal data transferred to firms in the U.S.

Jourova said the U.S., for example, has put in place ways in which EU individuals and firms can seek and obtain redress for complaints they may have with data transfers.

She added that more than 2,400 companies had already been certified by the U.S. Commerce Department to participate in the scheme.

The commission said relevant U.S. safeguards remained in place over access to personal data by U.S. public authorities for national security reasons.

"But we also found space for improvement," Jourova added.

The commission recommended that U.S. authorities do more to monitor  whether companies were complying with their obligations under the deal as well as regularly search participating companies that make false claims.

It called for closer cooperation between relevant U.S. authorities and their EU data protection counterparts.

Jourova urged Washington to name "as soon as possible" an ombudsman to tackle complaints from EU citizens, though there was "no concrete deadline."