The German Government does not see any need for them to take action with regard to the US-American “Safe Harbor” framework which has become subject to growing criticism. In a response to a query made by the SPD parliamentary group dated 25 October 2010 the Government refers the issue to the European Commission and the supervisory authorities of the German States. Following a study (“The US Safe Harbor – Fact or Fiction?”) by Chris Connolly (data privacy and consumer protection activist and Member of the Management Board of the Australian Privacy Foundation) published in 2008, compliance of US companies with the Safe Harbor Privacy Principles has been increasingly questioned. In April 2010 an informal coordinating body of the German supervisory authorities (Düsseldorfer Kreis), pointed out in a decision that companies should not rely blindly on the compliance of US companies who are certified under Safe Harbor. Since the Düsseldorfer Kreis did not explain how the data exporting companies are to monitor the compliance with the Safe Harbor Privacy Principles, this decision has led to an increasing uncertainty with regard to data transfers to Safe Harbor certified organizations in the USA.
