© Monika Zwolinska.

University of Nice-Sophia (Francia).

Summary

We present in this contribution the disparities that exist between the European and American approaches to protecting personal data. Those two legal traditions are very different from  each other. That is a barrier to establishing secure and effective systems of transferring personal data between the two continents. Elaborating a common ground for those transfers is an essential step in developing commercial cooperation.  One of the key criticisms of the current international regime is its failure to meet needs of today’s global business environment. The question we will ask is whether it is possible to reach an agreement on the strategic issue of cross-border data transfers in the light of the American large conception of freedom to do business and to keep the governmental intervention as rare as possible, on the one hand, and the European high standards and adequacy requirements applicable to data confidentiality, security and integrity.