BORDEAUX, France, November 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
AT Internet, major player in the field of digital intelligence,
responds to the European Court of Justice's decision to invalidate
the Safe Harbor agreement, per the 6 October
2015 ruling that the European Commission's Decision
2000/520/EC of 26 July 2000 does not
respect personal data privacy regulations.
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AT Internet affirms that its data privacy policies respect the
requirements of the European Commission's Directive on Data
Protection, as data collected and processed via the AT Internet
solution is stored exclusively on French soil. Therefore, European
companies using AT Internet's solution are automatically compliant
with this directive, as opposed to companies who transmit their
data to the United States via
other analytics tools.
What is the Safe Harbor agreement?
The Safe Harbor agreement is the result of the European
Commission's Decision of 26 July
2000, conform to the European Parliament and Council
Directive 95/46/EC (24 October 1995)
and regarding the "adequate protection" provided by US Department
of Commerce's Safe Harbor Privacy Principles. Until now, the Safe
Harbor framework permitted the transfer of European Union citizens'
personal data towards the United
States, considering that the
United States ensured a sufficient level of protection.
What are the major restrictions now imposed on users of
digital analytics solutions?
The European directive requires companies using American digital
analytics technologies to obtain authorisation from each of their
EU-citizen customers whose data will be processed in the United States.
How is AT Internet different from the majority
of digital analytics providers?
AT Internet offers a maximum level of protection to its
customers, illustrated by several points:
- 100% European service provider: Storage, back-up and
protection of processed data is done only on proprietary servers
based in France.
- Completely transparent approach to privacy and data
protection: France's CNIL recommends AT Internet for its
conformity to cookie regulations.
- TÜV certification: German entity TÜV Saarland
certifies that AT Internet's data collection and processing
procedures conform to data privacy and protection norms.
- Unique position in the digital analytics market: AT
Internet is the only European group among the industry leaders, as
outlined in this report from Forrester Research, Inc. ("The
Forrester Wave[TM]: Web Analytics,
Q2 2014"). This "leader" position guarantees the highest levels of
performance and strict respect of EU legislation.
Mathieu Llorens, AT Internet CEO,
says: "The ruling of Safe Harbor as
'invalid' should enable greater protection
of European users by reviving negotiations about the necessary
alignment of French and American
practices. In light of all this, we want to reassure our
European customers who, as always, can count on the guarantees and
certifications made possible by our France-based hosting infrastructures, as well
as our presence as an independent entity focused exclusively
on analytics."
White paper to be published in early
2016
AT Internet is currently developing a joint white paper with
Aurélie Pols, international expert in data protection and privacy
issues in the digital analytics industry. The white paper's
objective is to comprehensively assess the topic and help marketing
professionals sufficiently evaluate their current situation, thanks
to best practices and recommendations on tools that conform to
current legislation.
Aurélie Pols adds: "Safe Harbor has always been a weak
link when it comes to respecting recognised privacy
rights of EU citizens, even more so as the digital
analytics industry is moving towards increased customer centricity!
It took Edward Snowden and an
Austrian law student to declare it illegal. This invalidation by
the European Court of Justice, together with other issues our
industry is facing such as AdBlockers and data quality, should
resonate as a sounding board to do a better job at finding the
right balance between data-driven
decision-making and respecting users'
privacy wishes. All actors involved within the digital
data ecosystem have a role to play: It's basically a
chain of responsibility. More specifically, analytics vendors are
today faced with the challenge of rolling out adequate
privacy features for their customers, allowing them
to, in turn, respect their
users' rights."
For more information, please see the European Court of Justice's
official press release.
Contact us directly at atcontact@atinternet.com
About AT Internet
One of the world's major players in digital intelligence since
1996, AT Internet helps companies measure their audience and
optimise their digital performance across all channels. AT
Internet's expertise extends from collecting raw data to treating
it in real time and delivering it for analysis and the sharing of
insights. Applications in AT Internet's Analytics
Suite provide reliable, contextualised and actionable
information. Scalable and completely modular, AT Internet's
offering adapts to businesses in all industries: e-commerce, media,
finance/banking, corporate institutions. Easy-to-use and accessible
to all individuals within a company, these solutions help address
the challenges facing both novices and experts in digital analytics
and data mining. The power of AT Internet's Analytics
Suite and the quality of its services (consulting, training
and support) are recognised worldwide. AT Internet counts more than
3,800 customers around the globe, in all industries. With more than
200 employees, the group is present in 32 countries via its
customers, subsidiaries and partners.
Learn more: http://www.atinternet.com