The US government is still using a data-sharing scheme that was struck down by Europe's top court

The US government says it will continue to administer the "Safe Harbor" program, a framework for transferring citizens' data between Europe and the US - despite it being struck down by Europe's top court earlier this month.

Any Safe Harbor self-certifications issued by the US Department of Commerce since the ruling will not hold any legal weight with European authorities - meaning American companies who choose to take this route are opening themselves up to legal challenges from national regulators.

The 2000 Safe Harbor decision was a way to unify Europe and America's disparate regulatory regimes, and streamline the transfer of data on citizens between the two regions for companies. It meant that US companies could self-certify with the Department of Commerce, and not have to worry about differences in regulation in over 20 European countries.

But following revelations of US spying by whistleblower Edward Snowden, fears grew over adequate protections for Europeans' data held in America under Safe Harbor. Austrian activist Max Schrems took Facebook to court, and the case ended up at the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which ruled last week that Safe Harbor was "invalid."

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