Mitigating the risk of US surveillance for public sector services in the cloud

Despite efforts to mitigate European concerns over US governmental access to European data, the US regulatory framework is still problematic from a fundamental rights perspective, as elevated by the Schrems II ruling. The issues associated with transnational transfers of data have been further complicated by the European Data Protection Board’s recommendations that state that EU personal data cannot be processed in the clear in third countries where public authorities demand access to data. Based on empirical case studies from the Netherlands and Sweden, the present contribution outlines possible remedies that mitigate this problem, but the fundamental issue appears unsolvable. While the US has taken steps to grant foreign nationals more rights, significant challenges remain with the US approach to mass surveillance and EU citizens’ lack of judicial redress.