U.S. and E.U. Trade and Technology Council Announce Future Work, But No Specifics, on Emerging Tech, Privacy, Data Governance

The inaugural meeting concluded without firm statements or substantive agreements, but teased future cooperation.

The U.S.-E.U. Trade and Technology Council Meeting (the “TTC”) wrapped up their inaugural meeting in Pittsburgh, PA last week putting out their first joint statement. Leaders from the United States and European Union laid out a framework for how the group will work moving forward, and how they will address critical issues.

According to leaders from both governments, the TCC was formed to increase transatlantic trade and investment, with the hope of promoting democratic, market-orientated values. The partnership will look to bring the two government’s regulatory and trade schemes into harmony, focusing on topics such as climate change, emerging technologies, artificial intelligence (“AI”), and data governance.

With those goals in mind, many hoped that a new transatlantic data transfer agreement would be announced at the conclusion of the TCC’s meeting in Pittsburgh, PA. The Court of Justice of the E.U. twice struck down previous data transfer agreements for not offering adequate data protection, driving the need for a new agreement as entities can now only rely on inflexible standard contractual clauses. However, the first meeting only served to lay the groundwork for potential agreements and cooperation moving forward.

With no data transfer deal in hand, entities subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) largely continue to rely on the standard contractual clauses (“SCCs”). See Data Meets World’s coverage of the updated SCCs here. However, despite the lack of substantive agreements, the TCC did pave the way forward and announced working groups and policy statements that implicate emerging technology and data governance.

Additionally, there are other groups, such European Commission - U.S. Department of Commerce data transfer negotiations and the E.U. Blockchain Observatory, look at similar issues. It is unclear the extent to which those efforts will be combined in the future.

The TTC’s joint statement also announced a virtual outreach event for stakeholders on October 27, 2021.

Working Groups

At least initially, the TCC will work from ten working groups that will report out technical work and recommendations to the TCC leaders.

The working groups consist of the following topics and focuses: (1) Technology Standards and Cooperation; (2) Climate and Clean Tech; (3) Secure Supply Chains; (4) Information and Communication Technology and Services (“ICTS”) Security and Competitiveness; (5) Data Governance and Technology Platform; (6) Misuse of Technology Threatening Security and Human Rights; (7) Export Controls Cooperation; (8) Investment Screening Cooperation; (9) Promoting Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Access to and Use of Digital Technologies; and (10) Global Trade Challenges.

The Technology Standards, ICTS Security, and Data Governance working groups all potentially impact transatlantic data privacy and governance moving forward.

First, with an eye towards developing international standards for emerging technology—including for AI—the Technology Standards group will develop formal and informal cooperation mechanisms, including information sharing on technical proposals in emerging tech spaces through secure channels.

Second, the ICTS Security group is focused on ensuring security and resilience across important supply chains. Specifically, the group will look to secure “sensitive and critical areas” such as 5G, undersea cables, data centers, and cloud infrastructure. Beyond that, the group will also work to prepare communications technology for 6G platforms.

Finally, the Data Governance group will likely have the most impact on any future transatlantic data transfer agreement. The group will address the different data governance approaches that the U.S. and E.U. currently have. Specifically, the TTC’s joint statement identified three core issues: (1) illegal or harmful content and their algorithmic amplification; (2) transparency; and (3) access to platform data for researchers and government regulators. Beyond trying to harmonize U.S. and E.U. data regulatory schemes, the group will also focus on social media (disinformation and harmful content) and tech anti-trust issues.

Areas of Future Cooperation

Additionally, the TTC’s joint statement announced areas of future cooperation the U.S. and E.U. intend to focus on. The cooperation will include technical consultations on respective government decisions related to technology and trade.

The areas of future cooperation include technical consultations for (1) current and upcoming legislative and regulatory changes; (2) convergent control approaches on sensitive dual-use technologies (technology with civilian and defense, intelligence, or law enforcement purposes); and (3) compliance and enforcement approaches and actions.

Statement on AI

The TTC joint statement also broadly outlined a framework for an AI regulatory scheme that largely tracks with already existing agreements the U.S. and E.U. previously signed onto.

The statement on AI cites and reaffirms the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) recommendation on AI, which called for development of “trustworthy” AI. The TTC expanded on this and highlighted the need for measurements and tools to test AI trustworthiness, such as accuracy and bias mitigation controls.

Beyond a recommitment to the OECD recommendation, the TTC also stated that AI should be grounded in human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation, economic growth, and social benefit. Specifically, the TTC joint statement called for a risk-based regulatory approach.

Finally, a joint study was announced to research AI’s impact on employment, wages, and the dispersion of market opportunities.  

As the transatlantic regulatory structure continues to develop and the obligations your business is required to take on change or grow, the Benesch Data Protection and Privacy team is committed to staying at the forefront of knowledge and experience to assist our clients in compliance efforts. We are available to assist you with any compliance needs.

Ryan T. Sulkin at rsulkin@beneschlaw.com or 312.624.6398.

Lucas Schaetzel at lschaetzel@beneschlaw.com or 312.212.4977.