Europe Has to Rebuild Its Safe Harbor

More than a week after the European Court of Justice pulled the rug from under trans-Atlantic e-commerce, U.S. companies remain confused about how to keep operating in Europe. Data-protection authorities meeting in Brussels offered little clarification beyond reminding the European Union and the U.S. of what's already obvious: A new e-commerce framework needs to be worked out as soon as possible.

The court's landmark ruling earlier this month, which said the data of Europeans is unsafe from U.S. government surveillance, was initially hailed by supporters as a victory for human rights and privacy. But it advances neither.