A recent brief released by the Atlantic Council’s Future Europe Initiative explores the existing trans-Atlantic data-transfer mechanisms, the court case that could invalidate them and the different approaches the European Union and United States have for transborder data transfers and privacy standards. At issue is the court case by Max Schrems, who questioned if the laws U.S. intelligence agencies use to access personal data from Facebook users in Europe are consistent with European privacy laws. Non-Resident Senior Fellow Kenneth Propp writes the judgment could "deliver a nasty shock to the transatlantic digital economy, as global commerce today depends on the ability of consumers and companies to transfer information, including personal data, quickly and seamlessly across borders." The Court of Justice of the European Union is expected to deliver its ruling in early 2020, but the first sign of the likely verdict will come Dec. 12. 
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