International Data Transfers – Your Best Option

Emmanuel Kwasi Gadasu
CEH || CDPS || CIPM || CIPP-E || MSc IT and Law || Data Privacy Consultant || Information Security Trainer || Programmer || IT Trainer ||
April 24, 2025

In an increasingly interconnected world, the flow of personal data across borders is both inevitable and essential. From multinational companies coordinating operations to cloud services hosting user data globally, international data transfers are central to modern business. However, under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – and many other Data Protection Laws across the world, such transfers require robust legal safeguards to ensure that individuals’ data protection rights are upheld—even outside their respective jurisdictions.

NOTE: I have used GDPR to represent Data Protection Laws obviously because the GDPR has become the defacto World Data Protection Law!

Among the mechanisms established to facilitate lawful cross-border data flows are Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs), Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), and Transfer Impact Assessments (TIAs). While each plays a different role, together they form the backbone of GDPR-compliant international data transfers.

1. Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs)

What Are They? BCRs are internal policies adopted by multinational companies to allow intra-group transfers of personal data across borders, particularly from the EU to non-EU affiliates.

Why Are They Important? They demonstrate that the company has established legally binding safeguards and accountability measures that meet GDPR standards—even when operating in countries without adequate data protection laws.

Challenges:

Approval Process: BCRs must be reviewed and approved by national Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) through the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) cooperation mechanism.
This process can be lengthy, bureaucratic, and resource-intensive, often taking 12–18 months to complete.
For this reason, while BCRs offer long-term benefits, they are typically adopted by large corporations with mature compliance programs.

2. Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)

What Are They? SCCs are pre-approved contractual templates issued by the European Commission that can be used between data exporters in the EU and data importers in third countries.

Why Are They Preferred?

Legally binding and enforceable
No need for prior DPA approval, making them faster and more accessible than BCRs
Widely used by businesses of all sizes to transfer data to the U.S., Asia, Africa, and beyond

Updates to SCCs: In response to the Schrems II ruling, the European Commission released modernized SCCs in 2021, requiring additional due diligence measures, including Transfer Impact Assessments (TIAs).

3. Transfer Impact Assessments (TIAs)

What Are They? TIAs are risk assessments conducted by organizations prior to using SCCs or other mechanisms to ensure that data subjects’ rights remain protected in the destination country.

Why Are They Critical? The Schrems II judgment invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield and emphasized that organizations must assess whether the recipient country provides an “essentially equivalent” level of protection as the EU.

TIAs typically evaluate:

The local laws governing surveillance and government access to data
The enforceability of SCCs or BCRs in that country
The nature and sensitivity of the data being transferred
Supplementary measures (technical, contractual, organizational) that can mitigate risks

So, Which Approach Is Best?

BCRs are ideal for large multinational groups with frequent internal data flows, but they require significant investment and time.
SCCs, accompanied by TIAs, offer a practical and legally robust solution for most companies and are the current default mechanism for international data transfers.
Organizations must also regularly monitor the legal landscape and be ready to adopt supplementary measures when risks are identified.

Conclusion

Navigating the complexities of international data transfers under the GDPR requires a deep understanding of the available legal tools and a proactive approach to compliance. While BCRs offer long-term stability, SCCs coupled with TIAs provide the most flexible and scalable solution in today’s regulatory climate. Businesses must balance practicality with legal rigor to protect data and build trust across borders.