In October of 1998, the European Commission created a Directive on Data Protection, which prohibits transferring personal data to non-European Union countries that do not meet a certain level of privacy protection. The EU felt this was necessary as it and the United States approach handling data privacy in different ways.
In order to allow US companies to quickly comply with EU standards, the European Commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce worked together to provide a framework by which organizations could certify their compliance. The program is called the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor program, and certifying to the framework allows U.S. organizations to join this program.
With Switzerland, their Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner also worked with the U.S. Department of Commerce to create a separate "Safe Harbor" framework, for the same purposes as the EU "Safe Harbor" framework.
Giva values the privacy of its users and visitors, and Giva respects the privacy definitions of not only the U.S., but the other organizations around the world that have decided upon their own standards they feel are best for the people they represent. With this, Giva has completed the self-certification process as defined in the Safe Harbor framework for both the European Union and Switzerland.
For more information about Giva's Safe Harbor compliance, please visit our Privacy Policy page.