Privacy Shield 'Deficiencies' Urgently Need Fixes, Says European Parliament Delegation Head

release. The assessment by the committee, which previously has been critical of the agreement (see 1703290015), comes ahead of a required review in September to ensure Privacy Shield is functioning adequately. LIBE Chair Claude Moraes, who last week led an eight-member delegation to Washington to meet with various U.S. government officials (see 1707140018), pointed to problems with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board and the State Department's ombudsperson position. Since January, the five-member PCLOB, which has four vacancies, has lacked a quorum (see 1612270051), while the ombudsperson role to handle Europeans' complaints about U.S. government access to their personal data has been filled by a State Department official in an acting capacity. The delegation also focused on the ongoing review of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Presidential Policy Directive 28 and other law enforcement elements, the release said. Moraes said Privacy Shield will need to comply with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the general data protection regulation that is going into effect in May. U.S.-based privacy groups have told the EU that the agreement has problems (see 1707050019 and 1707060006).