Press Releases

Today, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Co-Chair of the Digital Trade Caucus, released the following statement on recent tech decisions in Europe.

“I welcome an agreement between the U.S. and European Union on a new Privacy Shield framework. When the initial framework was struck down by the European Court of Justice in 2020, it created a significant amount of uncertainty and risk for American companies - large and small - doing business in Europe. A new agreement is a win-win for the U.S. and EU by allowing data to move freely again across the Atlantic and giving confidence to consumers their personal data will be protected.

“This step does not take away from the urgency of the U.S. developing its own national consumer data privacy standard, the lack of which was part of the reason the initial Privacy Shield was struck down. I urge my colleagues to act quickly on this issue so we can protect privacy rights at home and ensure the U.S. doesn’t fall behind on the global stage.

“At the same time, I am disappointed that the EU is reportedly finalizing the Digital Markets Act (DMA) despite serious concerns from the Biden administration and U.S. members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.

“While proponents of the legislation argue that the DMA will promote competition among digital platforms, it has been intentionally designed to apply mostly to American companies and workers while largely exempting Europe’s own tech industry.

“The agreement is also a missed opportunity to address issues with Chinese, Russian, or other foreign-owned tech firms because they will largely not be covered by the new regulatory regime and will be able to further expand their operations in the EU. If a company’s behavior is worth regulating, it should not matter if it is an American, European, or Chinese company.

“The DMA’s discriminatory aspects are at odds with the fundamental principles of the World Trade Organization and undermine the U.S.-EU economic relationship. Rather than this approach, the U.S. and EU should take each other’s concerns seriously and work together to forge the rules of the digital economy.”