'Safe harbour' ruling illustrates growing chasm between US and EU

The European Court of Justice decision in the Facebook case is the latest evidence of difference in attitude towards data protection

The Atlantic Ocean just got a little wider. The European Court of Justice's latest ruling has determined that the US "does not afford an adequate level of protection of personal data".

The case brought against Facebook over the potential for US government snooping on European citizens' data, throws the differences in internet culture into stark relief. But those differences have been growing for some time.