EU privacy board approves global expansion of Europrivacy certification

The European Data Protection Board has approved the extension of the Europrivacy certification scheme beyond Europe, allowing organisations outside the European Economic Area subject to the General Data Protection Regulation to seek certification.

The announcement was made by the European Centre for Certification and Privacy, which manages the scheme.

The EDPB also approved a dedicated version of the certification criteria designed for use in international data transfers.

Under GDPR, organisations transferring personal data outside the EU must demonstrate that transferred data remains protected through recognised safeguards. The new approval is intended to allow Europrivacy certification to function as one of those compliance mechanisms.

The certification process involves independent assessments and recurring audits intended to verify whether organisations meet specific GDPR-related requirements.

The development is significant because certification mechanisms have so far played a relatively limited operational role in international GDPR compliance. Most organisations have relied instead on contractual arrangements such as Standard Contractual Clauses or adequacy decisions.

The EDPB approval could give companies another route for demonstrating compliance during international transfers, particularly in situations where organisations want external verification of their data protection practices rather than relying solely on internal legal documentation.