On February 16, 2009, the US-Swiss Safe Harbor Framework, which is comparable to the EU-US Safe Harbor Framework, was adopted. The US-Swiss framework is intended to simplify the transfer of personal data by Swiss companies to American companies that are self-certified with the US Department of Commerce (DOC). Self-certified US companies are bound by the principles contained in the framework. They will automatically be considered as providing an adequate level of data protection under Swiss law.