Commercial Data Transfers and Liaison Officers: What Data Protection Rules Apply in the Fight against Impunity When Third Countries Are Involved?

This contribution addresses the question of whether and under what circumstances data protection should prevail over the fight against impunity. It focuses on data cooperation between the European Union and the United States of America (US) in the context of crime prevention and law enforcement. It examines the limited control mechanisms that are in place to ensure data protection after data has been transferred or otherwise shared in the highly relevant and controversial context of commercial transfers of personal data and in the academically rather neglected context of liaison officers seconded from the US to EU agencies within the Area of Freedom Security and Justice (AFSJ). The objective is to identify (1) limits imposed by data protection requirements on data sharing as a means of fighting impunity, (2) responsibilities of EU actors for data that is collected and processed within the EU’s jurisdiction, be it public or private actors, and (3) limits of the EU’s control over data flows in the 21st century.