The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) is a key independent watchdog overseeing US data protection policies. Now, the Trump administration has announced it is taking steps to dismantle it. The move could disrupt data transfer agreements between the US, the EU, and Switzerland.
Swiss companies, which currently rely on the Swiss-US Data Privacy Framework to transfer personal data to American cloud providers, may face new compliance challenges. The current agreement is modelled after the EU-US data transfer framework, which is now also under threat.
The Trump administration recently demanded the resignation of three Democratic members of the PCLOB, which currently only has five members, (and requires at least three members to function) raising concerns about US compliance with European and Swiss data protection laws.
Privacy experts warn that an inactive PCLOB could weaken the legal basis for data transfers, potentially affecting major tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Meta. Despite this, a spokesperson for the PCLOB stated: “The agency is able to continue to operate with all of its staff and the remaining members in order to continue its important mission, including its advisory and oversight functions, as well as its ongoing projects."
Additionally, some legal analysts argue that the EU-US framework would not be immediately invalidated unless the European Commission withdraws its adequacy decision or the EU courts overturn it. Austrian activist Max Schrems, known for successfully challenging previous EU-US data agreements, criticised the deal's instability and warned that the latest developments highlight the fragility of data transfer agreements based on executive policies rather than solid legal protections.
The dismantling of the PCLOB is part of a broader shift in digital policy in the US, with the Trump administration also revoking an executive order on AI governance since coming into power.