Overseas transfer of personal data can come with a lot of worries about your privacy being lost to strangers. Once in the wrong hands, your personal data and information can be misused. Therefore, in order to prevent the mishandling of personal data during overseas transactions, the US has formulated a ‘Safe Harbor’ policy for the citizens. 

The Safe Harbor scheme allows a standardized free flow of information from the US to the European Union. It lays out a set of procedures and processes that provide safety of information and protection from malicious efforts to hack into the information. The scheme is meant to allow uninterrupted flow of data between the two affirming nations. 

If you trade frequently overseas or have subsidiaries in European Union states, it can be beneficial to get certified as a Safe Harbor business. A business must be regulated or monitored by a statutory body as a ‘Harborite’ i.e. a company that has declared its affirmation to the Safe Harbor independently. The business/company then gets listed on the website and comes under the possible enforcement actions of the Federal Trade Commission or US Department of Transportation in case the laws are not abided.

The users dealing with a Harborite can be sure that their personal data will never be transferred to a third party. This creates a sense of added responsibility and trustworthiness on the part of the company and the users feel safer in dealing. Signing up for the Safe Harbor list will make the users feel secure with you. As it is a voluntary sign up, you portray the image of a company that is genuinely interested to maintain the privacy of their users. It is a great certification for import-export and consumer data collection business who deal with multiple countries in the EU. 

The most beneficial feature of being a Harborite is that data transfer between US and Europe will become faster, easier and cheaper. A Harborite company does not have to pass strict laws from the US and European states at every stage of transfer. This makes the data transfer largely uninterrupted and smooth. 

Overall, Safe Harbor can be translated as the most time and cost effective means of data transfer between various countries. You can choose to be a Safe Harbor company and get listed. Moreover, the list is updated regularly and self-certification on the part of the company is done annually. Therefore, it can be a very beneficial for you to be a Harborite and trade with other such businesses.