US, EU sign data transfer deal to ease privacy concerns

By KELVIN CHAN and CHRIS MEGERIAN
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — 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. President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the deal Friday during Biden’s stop in Brussels while on a European tour amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. Business groups said the agreement will provide relief to thousands of companies that faced uncertainty over sending data between the U.S. and Europe, which has much stricter regulations on data privacy.