Kount has announced that it is now fully compliant with the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework for protection of EU-US data transfers. These replaced the longstanding International Safe Harbour Privacy Principles in July 2016.

The previously incumbent Safe Harbour Principles, used by major companies including Facebook and Google, were introduced in July 2000 following a European Commission ruling to guarantee that any EU data transferred to America would receive the same protection enjoyed within the EU.

In October 2015, the Principles were declared invalid by the European Court of Justice following revelations by whistleblower Edward Snowden and legal proceedings by Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems that accused the Principles of failing to adequately protect EU data.

The re-negotiation that followed resulted in the European Commission’s adoption of the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework on 12th July 2016, as ‘a recognised mechanism to comply with EU data protection requirements when transferring personal data’ from the EU to the US in support of transatlantic commerce.

The Privacy Shield is based on a number of updated key principles in order to align with EU regulations such as: Strong obligations on companies handling data, clear safeguards and transparency obligations on US government access, effective protection of individual rights and an annual joint review mechanism.

Rich Stuppy, COO, Kount

Rich Stuppy, COO, Kount, said: ‘With the recent spate of cyberattacks, including Yahoo’s high-profile data breach which exposed at least 500 million user accounts, it has never been more crucial for companies to have a clear understanding around their customer’s data, and a firm grasp on who that data is being shared with.

Kount’s absolute commitment to protecting customer data means that we welcome the Privacy Shield as a key framework against the misuse of personal information, evidenced through our full compliance with all Privacy Shield principles.’

Kount’s full compliance with the Privacy Shield demonstrates the business’s commitment to securing and protecting customer data on a global scale. Kount’s anti-fraud solutions, such as Kount Complete, analyses millions of data points surrounding consumer transactions from both the EU and US to provide a highly accurate risk of fraud prediction, whilst ensuring that this data is adequately protected under Privacy Shield regulations.

Kount is also fully committed to wider CSR responsibilities and will open the Kount Tutoring Centre in association with Eileen Barber and Boise State University this fall. The Centre will drive positive social benefits for local students in order to combat a rising number of unfilled science, technology, engineering and mathematics jobs.

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