EU Court Blocks Data Pact Amid Fears Over U.S. Surveillance (4)

The European Union’s top court struck down a key method used by Facebook Inc. and other companies to transfer data across the Atlantic amid fears over potential U.S. surveillance.

Thursday’s decision by the EU Court of Justice on the so-called Privacy Shield means thousands of businesses that ship commercial data to the U.S. risk turmoil in their day-to-day activities.

While a separate contract-based system to transfer data was approved, the judges’ doubts about American data protection also plunge that alternative method into legal uncertainty.

The controversy stretches back to 2013, when former contractor Edward Snowden exposed the extent of ...