Keele Research Repository

This chapter explores the forms of governance that the EU–US PNR, TFTP, Privacy Shield and Umbrella Agreement have established in the transatlantic data space by looking at the relevant rules, procedures and institutions. It concludes that transatlantic institutionalisation in the sphere of data protection is weak and has not achieved a locus of legitimation as these agreements have been mainly negotiated by the executive serving national security interests and contain a complex set of fragmented, uncertain rules that in their substance have weakened fundamental rights’ protection. This chapter advocates that potential solutions for the current inadequate transatlantic data privacy framework could be searched at the domestic level through the emergence of new actors, such as private individuals and independent authorities that can act as watchdogs for the protection of data privacy rights beyond the EU borders.