Facebook has signed up to a new EU data pact that allows personal information to be transferred to the United States, potentially sparking yet another privacy row.

The social media giant has quietly adopted the Privacy Shield, a controversial treaty that allows US technology companies to transfer EU citizens’ details abroad. It will apply to certain advertising data and its new Workplace service for businesses.

Facebook’s adoption of the treaty is significant because the prior US-EU agreement, Safe Harbour, was abolished by the European Court of Justice as a direct result of legal action against the social network by privacy campaigners. It is likely to lead to further scrutiny of the Privacy Shield deal from Facebook’s critics.