EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF)
The legal basis that lets EU personal data go to US companies that certify under it, without extra transfer contracts.
The European Commission adopted the adequacy decision on July 10, 2023, after its predecessors Safe Harbor and Privacy Shield were struck down. US companies self-certify with the Department of Commerce, and the public list shows who is in. The EU General Court upheld the framework on September 3, 2025; an appeal to the Court of Justice was filed in October 2025, so a vendor relying on it alone carries some legal risk.
Related terms
- GDPR: The EU regulation on personal data: lawful basis, minimal data, user rights and breach reporting, for anyone handling EU residents’ data.
- Data processing agreement (DPA): The contract GDPR requires when a vendor processes personal data on your behalf: what, why, how it is protected, who else gets it.
- Zero data retention (ZDR): An arrangement in which an AI provider does not store your prompts and outputs after returning the response, beyond what is needed to serve it.
