Which option refers to a determination by the European Commission that a third country has achieved an EU-level of personal data protection?

The term that refers to a determination by the European Commission that a third country has achieved an EU-level of personal data protection is an adequacy decision. This decision is a formal recognition granted by the European Commission stating that a non-EU country provides an adequate level of protection for personal data, which allows for the free flow of data between the EU and that country without the need for additional safeguards.

The importance of an adequacy decision stems from its role in maintaining the principles of data protection established by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It ensures that individuals' personal data is treated with the same level of care and protection outside the EU, thus facilitating international data transfers while protecting individual privacy rights.

Other terms like approved safeguard, data protection agreement, and Privacy Shield do not specifically refer to the European Commission's formal recognition of equivalence in data protection levels. Approved safeguards may refer to various mechanisms, such as standard contractual clauses or binding corporate rules, used to ensure data protection without an adequacy decision. A data protection agreement typically involves specific contractual terms agreed upon by parties to ensure compliance but does not imply an evaluation of the overall level of protection in a third country. Privacy Shield, which was a framework for transatlantic exchanges of personal data