Abstract
This Comment addresses how the US protection of personal data will fare when judged against the adequacy standard of the Directive. Part I explains what data protection is and traces the development of data protection law in Europe and the United States. It then analyzes the current approaches to data protection in both the Community and the United States. Part II discusses different approaches to assessing adequacy. It proposes that the Article 29 Working Party presents the only clear explanation of how to assess when a third country ensures adequate protection of personal data. Part II then describes the Working Party's approach to assessing what constitutes adequate protection. Part III argues that under the Working Party's approach, the United States ensures an adequate level of protection in the public sector and in some areas in the private sector. It asserts that the level of protection in much of the private sector will not be considered adequate under the Directive. This Comment concludes that under the Working Party's suggested approach, Member States should find that US data protection is not adequate overall, but does ensure adequate protection in the public sector and a few areas of the private sector.
Recommended Citation
Patrick J. Murray,
The Adequacy Standard Under Directive 95/46/EC: Does U.S. Data Protection Meet This Standard?,
21 Fordham Int'l L.J. 932
(1997).
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ilj/vol21/iss3/10