LONDON: US President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order to implement a European Union-United States data transfer framework announced in March that adopts new American intelligence gathering privacy safeguards.
The deal seeks to end the limbo in which thousands of companies found themselves after Europe’s top court threw out two previous pacts due to concerns about US surveillance.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters the executive order “is the culmination of our joint effort to restore trust and stability to transatlantic data flows” and “will ensure the privacy of EU personal data.”
The framework addresses the concerns of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which in July 2020 struck down the prior EU-US Privacy Shield framework as a valid data transfer mechanism under EU law.
European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders said he was “quite sure” there would be a fresh legal challenge, but he was confident that the pact met the demands of the court.
“We have a real improvement relative to the Privacy Shield.... It’s totally different,” he told Reuters in an interview. “Maybe the third attempt will be the good one.”
The White House said “transatlantic data flows are critical to enabling the $7.1 trillion EU-US economic relationship” and the framework “will restore an important legal basis for transatlantic data flows.”
The US Chamber of Commerce and Microsoft welcomed the executive order, but digital rights activist group Access Now and European consumer organization BEUC said it did not appear that people’s rights were being sufficiently protected.
The White House said Biden’s order bolstered current “privacy and civil liberties safeguards” for US intelligence gathering and created an independent, binding multi-layer redress mechanism for individuals who believe their personal data was illegally collected by US intelligence agencies.
Reynders said it would take about six months to complete a complex approval process, noting the previous system only had redress to an ombudsperson inside the US administration, which the EU court rejected.
Biden’s order adopts new safeguards on the activities of US intelligence gathering, requiring they do only what is necessary and proportionate, and creates a two-step system of redress — first to an intelligence agency watchdog then to a court with independent judges, whose decisions would bind the agencies.
Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in March said the provisional agreement offered stronger legal protections and addressed the EU court’s concerns.
Raimondo on Friday will transmit a series of letters to the EU from US agencies “outlining the operation and enforcement of the EU-US data privacy framework” that “will form the basis for the European Commission’s assessment in a new adequacy decision,” she said.
Under the order, the Civil Liberties Protection Officer (CLPO) in the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence will investigate complaints and make decisions.
The US Justice Department is establishing a Data Protection Review Court to independently review CLPO’s decisions. Judges with experience in data privacy and national security will be appointed from outside the US government.
European privacy activists have threatened to challenge the framework if they did not think it adequately protects privacy. Austrian Max Schrems, whose legal challenges have brought down the previous two EU-US data flow systems, said he still needed to analyze the package.
“At first sight it seems that the core issues were not solved and it will be back to the CJEU (EU court) sooner or later,” he said.
Biden signs order to implement EU-US data privacy framework
https://arab.news/jsamk
Biden signs order to implement EU-US data privacy framework
- Deal comes after Europe’s top court threw out two previous pacts due to concerns about US surveillance
Gems of Arabia magazine launched to spotlight talents shaping Saudi Arabia’s evolving cultural landscape
- The publication features established and emerging talents elevating the region across design, fashion, art, tech, music, architecture and media
- Saudi fashion designer Hatem Alakeel seeks to highlight the richness of the Kingdom, and wider modern Arab culture to global audiences
DUBAI: When Saudi fashion designer Hatem Alakeel interviewed Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud before her appointment as Saudi ambassador to the US, the longtime advocate of women’s empowerment made a powerful prediction: “I look forward to the day that the Saudi woman is no longer the story but rather a phenomenal achievement.”
That moment would become the foundation for Gems of Arabia, an arts and culture audio-visual podcast that spotlights the creative talents shaping the landscape of Saudi Arabia and the broader region.
Over six years, Gems of Arabia has documented the sweeping transformation of the Kingdom’s art and culture scene, and is now evolving into a full-fledged magazine.
“It started off as a column I used to write, and from there, it turned into a podcast. Now it is growing into a magazine,” Dubai-based Alakeel, the magazine’s founder and editor-in-chief, told Arab News ahead of the launch of the digital publication on Thursday.
Besides spotlighting celebrated regional artists, Alakeel said Gems of Arabia is in search of the “hidden gems” elevating the region across design, fashion, art, tech, music, architecture and media.
The magazine serves as a platform for talented, authentic creatives and tech entrepreneurs unable to articulate their work “because they don’t have the public relations or capacity to promote themselves even through social media.”
Alakeel added: “Our job is to identify all these authentic people; you don’t have to be famous, you just have to be authentic, and have a great story to tell.”
The digital publication offers a dynamic blend of short-form podcasts, coverage of regional cultural events, in-depth features and editorials, long-form interviews and artist profiles — spotlighting both celebrated and emerging talents. This is complemented by social media vox pops and bite-sized coverage of art events across the region.
Alakeel, who also runs Authenticite, a consulting and creative production agency connecting creators and brands who want to understand Saudi culture, said the magazine content is “carefully curated” to feature topics and personalities that resonate in the region.
What differentiates Gems of Arabia, he said, is its story of continuity and substance amassed over the years that has captured the evolution of the wider regional landscape.
“The website represents an archive of nearly 150 articles compiled through years of podcasts and long-form conversations that show continuity and depth changes,” he said.
“So, it’s an evolution and it’s another home for all our content and our community.”
Growing up in France, Alakeel said his mission started early on when he felt the need to represent his Saudi culture “in a way where it can hold its own internationally.”
Through his first brand, Toby, he sought to bring the traditional thobe into modern designs and introduce it to the luxury fashion world. This mission was accomplished when his thobe designs were placed alongside global labels such as Harvey Nichols, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada.
What began as a personal design mission would soon expand into a broader platform to champion Saudi talent.
“I was articulating my culture through fashion and it just felt natural to do that through the incredible people that the region has,” Alakeel said, adding that the magazine aims to highlight the richness of the Kingdom, and wider modern Arab culture to global audiences.
“Art is such a great way of learning about a culture and a country,” he said.
On the ground in Saudi Arabia, the publication hosts GEMS Forum, a series of live cultural gatherings that bring together prominent artistic figures for in-depth conversations later transformed into podcast episodes recorded with a live audience.
Alakeel said the print edition of Gems of Arabia will debut in March, designed as a collectible coffee-table quarterly distributed across the Gulf.
He envisions the platform growing into a long-term cultural record.
“It's a Saudi-centric magazine, but the idea is to make it inclusive to the region and everyone authentic has a seat at the table,” said Alakeel.
