On Tuesday March 24th the Court of Justice (CJEU) will hear a case referred by the Irish High Court on the NSA/PRISM spy scandal, which may have major implications for EU-US data flows and US internet companies operating in Europe (case number: C-362/14).

The European Union allows companies to transmit data abroad only if they can ensure “adequate protection” of users’ privacy. However, due to NSA surveillance, U.S. corporations normally cannot provide adequate protection. Should the court rule Facebook cannot ensure those protections, the decision will likely impact other American companies with European users, from Microsoft to Apple.

Details may be found at http://www.europe-v-facebook.org/PR_CJEU_en.pdf.