Facebook, Apple, Skype, Microsoft and Yahoo! are forwarding Europeans data to the servers of their US parent companies. Most of the named companies have European offices, which are subject to EU law. The case gets more complicated as the EU has made the so-called Safe Harbour decision. This allows US companies to self-certify to stick to certain (very basic) privacy principles. If it would allow such forwarding the Safe Harbour Decision would itself be illegal under Regulation 95/46/EC.”]
Source: http://europe-v-facebook.org/EN/Complaints/Safe_Harbor/safe_harbor.html