On 18 September, the conference on ‘Transferring Data out of the European Union’ took place in the historical premises of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The conference was organised by the Institute for Civil Procedure Law at the University of Vienna in collaboration with the Institute for Innovation and Digitalisation in Law at the University of Vienna. The diverse and international composition of the speakers - representing data protection authorities, supervisory authorities, academia, the judiciary and practitioners - provided space for a multi-perspective exchange.
The thematic focus was on the handling of data transfers between the EU and the USA and the difficulties of reconciling different data protection regimes. The strong focus on the USA and the growing importance of data transfers to other third countries - such as China - were also discussed in this context. The challenges of striking a fair balance between security interests on the one hand and the protection of privacy on the other were also adressed.
In order to make the existing data protection regimes fit for these challenges, more flexibility, more transparency and a consistent case law of both the CJEU and the ECtHR are required.
The event was rounded off with a culinary finish, accompanied by lively follow-up discussions.
