A
new
pact
to
facilitate
the
safe
transfer
of
EU
citizens’
personal
data
to
the
United
States
might
not
come
into
force
in
time
to
avoid
a
suspension
of
Facebook’s
transatlantic
data
flows,
the
US
firm’s
lead
European
regulator
said
on
Tuesday.
Facebook
owner
Meta,
which
has
warned
a
stoppage
could
force
it
to
suspend
Facebook
services
in
Europe,
declined
to
comment
on
the
possible
timing
of
the
regulator’s
decision
or
the
new
pact’s
entry
into
force.
European
Union
regulators
led
by
Ireland’s
Data
Protection
Commissioner
(DPC)
Helen
Dixon
are
finalising
a
ban
on
the
legal
tool
used
by
Facebook
to
transfer
European
user
data
because
of
concerns
US
intelligence
agencies
could
access
them.
In
an
interview,
Dixon
said
the
ban
could
be
in
place
by
mid-May
while
a
new
EU-US
data
protection
framework
that
would
provide
an
alternative
basis
for
the
transfers
might
take
longer.
“There
is
certainly
a
chance
of
that.
More
than
a
chance,
I
would
say,”
said
Dixon,
who
is
lead
European
regulator
for
US
technology
firms,
including
Apple,
Google
and
Twitter,
as
their
regional
headquarters
are
in
Ireland.
“They
could
be
very
close
in
timeline
or
the
DPC’s
suspension
order
could
come
into
effect
in
advance,”
Dixon
told
Reuters.
“Things
are
coming
down
to
the
wire.”
The
suspension
could
create
a
precedent
for
other
firms.
It
must
be
signed
off
by
other
European
regulators
by
April
13,
and
after
that,
Dixon
said
she
would
have
another
month
to
issue
a
ruling.
A
spokesperson
for
Meta
said
the
company
“welcomes
the
progress
policymakers
have
made
towards
ensuring
the
continued
transfer
of
data
across
borders
and
awaits
the
regulator’s
final
decision
on
this
matter.”
New
framework
Officials
have
said
the
new
EU-US
framework,
which
aims
to
offer
EU
citizens
the
same
level
of
data
protection
as
under
European
law,
may
be
ready
by
summer.
“They
are
still
talking
about
July,”
Dixon
said.
It
is
expected
to
face
legal
challenge
from
critics
who
believe
it
is
too
weak.
Two
previous
US-EU
pacts,
Safe
Harbour
and
Privacy
Shield,
were
struck
down
by
the
European
Union’s
top
court.
Dixon
said
she
and
her
fellow
regulators
were
positive
about
the
new
deal
and
that
the
European
Commission
was
confident
it
would
survive
court
challenge.
Critics,
such
as
privacy
campaigner
Max
Schrems
have
accused
Dixon
and
her
office
of
being
under-resourced
and
too
soft,
a
charge
she
rejected.
“We
are
really
hitting
our
stride,
working
at
pace,”
said
Dixon,
whose
office
levied
around
two-thirds
of
the
fines
issued
in
the
EU
and
Britain
combined
last
year.
It
is
working
on
22
large-scale
international
cases
including
against
Google,
Meta
and
Tik
Tok,
after
concluding
17
cases
last
year,
she
said.
It
plans
to
increase
its
staffing
to
around
250
this
year
from
200
last
year
and
27
when
Dixon
joined
in
2014.
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