By passing the Judicial Redress Act Tuesday night and sending on to the Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives has moved the country one-step closer to the type of data protection for foreigners that will prompt the EU sign off on an Umbrella Agreement hammered out in September and be more likely to approve Safe Harbor 2.0.
Under the Judicial Redress Act, foreign citizens will have the same judicial redress that Americans do if their personal information is misused by federal agencies in pursuit of law enforcement action. In other words, law enforcement and intelligent agencies are not allowed to spy on foreigners unless they show just cause—and if authorities step outside of the bounds of that protection, then they have the right to judicial redress.
Earlier month, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) declared the EU-US Safe Harbour pact invalid, citing inadequate privacy protections.
