US, EU SIGN DATA TRANSFER DEAL TO EASE PRIVACY CONCERNS

The European Union and United States made a breakthrough in their yearslong battle over the privacy of data that flows across the Atlantic with a preliminary agreement that paves the way for Europeans’ personal information to be stored in the U.S.

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President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the deal during Biden’s stop in Brussels while on a European tour amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Business groups hailed the announcement, saying it will provide relief to thousands of companies, including tech giants like Google and Facebook, that faced uncertainty over their ability to send data between the U.S. and Europe, which has much stricter regulations on data privacy. Data may be related to employees or customers and users, and companies use it for all types of online advertising, purchases and communications.

The agreement came hours after EU officials agreed on sweeping new digital rules to rein in the power of big tech companies such as Facebook and Google.