US, Europe in 'Safe Harbor' data-transfer deal

New York

EUROPEAN officials on Tuesday agreed to a deal with the United States that would let Google, Amazon and thousands of other businesses continue moving people's digital data, including social media posts and financial information, back and forth across the Atlantic.

With billions of dollars of business potentially at stake, the data-transfer deal was the result of more than three months of often tense negotiations between US and European Union (EU) policymakers, who have clashed over what level of privacy individuals can expect when companies and government agencies follow ever-expanding digital footprints.