ExtraTorrent | BitTorrent Inc. Settled With U.S. After EU Privacy Rule Breach

[Atreides]

         

BitTorrent Inc. was charged by the Federal Trade Commission with falsely claiming compliance with a treaty on EU data sharing. Along with a dozen other tech companies, it wrongly indicated current membership of the US-EU Safe Harbor Framework, allowing American entities to process European citizens’ information under EU law. BitTorrent Inc. has agreed to settle.

The European Commission’s Directive on Data Protection was enforced 15 years ago, prohibiting the transfer of European citizens’ information to non-EU countries unless they meet EU privacy standards. The program was developed by both the U.S. Department of Commerce and the European Commission. By signing up to it, American companies can send a clear signal to others in Europe that the privacy standards are being met.

All EU member states accept the standard, which can be seen as a sign of commitment to privacy. If a company meets the standard, it can exchange data with the European Union, and legal issues raised in relation to data sharing can be heard in the U.S. The problem is that after meeting the standards, companies must annually self-certify with the Department of Commerce that they adhere to the privacy principles within the program, but many of them allow their self-certifications to lapse. BitTorrent Inc. was one of them.

The FTC claimed that excuses “I forgot†aren’t accepted, and all those cases will help ensure the integrity of the Safe Harbor Framework while demonstrating to companies that they can’t falsely claim participation in the program.

So, BitTorrent Inc.’s entry shows that its self-certification expired 6 years ago, still listing Ashwin Navin as the company’s president, though the latter left that position in November 2008.

Although there were no accusations of BitTorrent Inc. or any company involved of compromising customer privacy, it is clear that the United States can’t fail to self-certify and then falsely claim to participate in the treaty with the EU, especially in light of the recent NSA scandal. This is why all companies have agreed to settle with the FTC by entering into “consent agreementsâ€.

The charges by the FTC must have come as a disappointment to the BitTorrent Inc., especially since their failure has stemmed from an administrative oversight rather than actual carelessness with information.