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Adequacy decision

A European Commission finding that a non-EEA country or arrangement provides essentially equivalent data protection for transfers.

In practice

An EU adequacy decision allows personal-data transfers to a third country without extra Chapter V safeguards. SaaS teams still document transfer paths and monitor decision changes — adequacy does not replace processor DPAs or subprocessors lists.

Common confusion

Adequacy is not a certification of an individual vendor’s security.

Related controls

Framework versions referenced in this page:

Last verified: August 2026 · Primary sources linked above