SWIFT Program e tutela della riservatezza: ancora sul trasferimento di dati dall’Unione europea agli Stati Uniti

Program and the right to private life of European citizens - Since 2001 SWIFT (a Belgian society which elaborates financial personal data) has undertaken the transfer of these data to the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which has used them for the purpose of fighting terrorism. The flow of data from a European company which is obliged to comply with the Directive 95/46/EC to the US public authorities was inconsistent with the principle of adequate protection of data, provided for by art. 25 of the Directive. Nevertheless, the European Commission did not underline the violation of the Directive by SWIFT. It just negotiated with the US Department of Treasure the conditions under which SWIFT data could continue to be transferred to the OFAC. These conditions are defined in a unilateral non-binding act adopted by the Department of Treasure but they are not sufficient to grant adequate protection of SWIFT data. The right to private life of any person, whose data are transferred to the US authorities, is consequently put at risk. Anyway, it must be said that, if the Department of Treasure complies with the data elaboration conditions enshrined in the presentation sent to EU institutions, the personal data transferred from SWIFT will be used only for fighting terrorism and for no other purpose. The European citizens privacy will not be in danger, as long as the principle of the limited purpose is strictly respected by the OFAC.

Alfredo Terrasi, SWIFT Program e tutela della riservatezza: ancora sul trasferimento di dati dall’Unione europea agli Stati Uniti in "DIRITTI UMANI E DIRITTO INTERNAZIONALE" 3/2008, pp 601-621, DOI: