Reporting from Israel, legal consultant Dr. Omer Tene writes:
On January 31, 2011, the European Commission formally approved Israel’s status as a country providing “adequate protection” for personal data under the European Data Protection Directive. The decision is restricted to automated international data transfers from the EU, as well as to non-automated data transfers that are subject to further automated processing in Israel. It will allow unrestricted transfers of personal data from the EU to Israel, for example between corporate affiliates or from European companies to data centers in Israel.
Israel joins a select group of countries, including Argentina, Canada, Switzerland, Andorra and several English Channel Islands, which have obtained similar status. A separate arrangement governs data transfers from the EU to the U.S. under the Safe Harbor framework.
Read more on Hunton & Williams Privacy and Information Security Law Blog.
H/T, Ryan Calo