In October, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) invalidated the Safe Harbor framework (read more about that decision, here), the mechanism that controlled how personal data could be transferred between European Union (EU) Member States and the United States. Most EU countries have stricter data-sharing laws than the U.S., and Safe Harbor was an agreement that outlined the manner in which U.S. companies could export and handle the data of EU citizens.
The goal of Safe Harbor was to provide a single set of data protection requirements for transferring information across the borders of countries who joined the Safe Harbor collective. On the surface, this ruling might appear to be a boon for U.S. companies trying to get information from overseas. However, European organizations are cautioning companies to closely monitor or even restrict their data flow to the U.S. until an alternate model can be developed.
This will likely make it more difficult to conduct effective background screens for candidates that have employment or academic information from European countries. Barada will stay abreast of the situation and keep our customers and followers updated.