SWIFT says that they strongly object to the opinion of the EU’s Article 29 Working Party (WP 29) as outlined in their press release that SWIFT has failed to respect the provisions of the EU Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC.
SWIFT says that repeated requests to meet with WP 29 were turned down and therefore, SWIFT was not given the opportunity to explain its position. SWIFT is also concerned that WP 29’s opinion could have far-reaching consequences for SWIFT and other companies providing global information and financial services.
“While we are clearly disappointed with the opinion of the WP 29 group, we have to move on,” says Leonard H. Schrank, the CEO of SWIFT. “SWIFT has always taken data privacy very seriously and will work with its user community and competent authorities to seek solutions which further increase awareness and transparency about usage of global systems like SWIFT. It is clear however that only dialogue between the EU and US will provide the legal certainty which internationally active companies require.”
Earlier this month, SWIFT submitted a comprehensive legal rebuttal to a similar opinion from the Belgian Privacy Commission. Both opinions reflect serious interpretation issues surrounding current data privacy laws.
SWIFT also strongly objects to WP 29’s opinion about the communication of personal data to the US Treasury (UST). SWIFT claims to have acted responsibly within applicable laws by complying with mandatory UST subpoenas for limited sets of data in the US for the exclusive purpose of terrorism investigations.