At long last, the new standard contractual clause (SCCs) are here!Following the invalidation of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield last July, U.S. companies have waited patiently for the release of the European Union’s updated SCCs, a much-needed alternative for validating cross-border transfers of EU personal data as required by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). On June 4th, the new SCCs were finally released by the European Commission; and as of June 27, 2021, they are now in full effect and available for use in new data export agreements.
Other key dates:
The old SCCs will be repealed as of September 27, 2021, so any new contracts signed after September 27th will be required to use the new SCCs.
For contracts signed before September 27th, including existing contracts drafted with the old SCCs, companies will be given 18 months (until December 27, 2022) to update the terms, as long as the processing operations that are the subject matter of the contract remain unchanged and reliance on the old clauses ensures that the transfer of personal data is subject to appropriate safeguards.
For additional information about the new SCCs, please read this overview of key provisions or feel free to contact Stephan Grynwajc for more information or assistance. Stephan can be reached at stephan@outsidegc.com or 347-543-3035.
Stephan Grynwajc served as a senior in-house attorney for several blue-chip technology corporations (e.g., Intel and Symantec) in France, the U.K. and the U.S., and today, focuses his practice on advising U.S.-based clients on navigating the EU privacy landscape. stephan@outsidegc.com