The much-awaited new Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCCs”) have been adopted by the European Commission on June 4, 2021 and should be published in the next few weeks. The new SCCs will go into effect twenty (20) days following publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (“EU”) and the old SCCs will be repealed … Continue Reading
We are one (penultimate) step closer to the final adoption of new Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCCs”) by the European Commission. The final version of a long overdue update to the 2004 (in case of controller-to-controller)/2010 (in case of controller-to-processor) model clauses which companies use to safeguard personal data transfers to controllers/processors outside the EEA under … Continue Reading
Since the GDPR came into force in May 2018, data privacy compliance has become increasingly relevant during M&A transactions throughout the EU. A buyer may ultimately be responsible for the historical data protection law breaches of the target business and for picking-up the costs of dealing with any data security breaches that occurred pre-completion of … Continue Reading
On 24th December 2020, the UK and the EU finally agreed on the terms of a Brexit deal, including an interim solution to the issue of personal data transfers from the EU to the UK. This interim arrangement gives some much-needed breathing space to European organizations with UK affiliates or that use UK service providers, … Continue Reading
With the end of the Brexit transition period fast approaching, we have examined the potential impact on data privacy compliance in the UK and the EU/EEA and prepared a guide which provides practical advice on how to prepare to ensure that your organization is in the best position possible to deal with the outcome of … Continue Reading
In considering methods to relax the COVID-19 lockdown measures and revive the economy, while at the same time containing the spread of the virus, the EU and national EU governments have been actively pursuing the development and use of contact tracing apps. To be effective, any contact tracing app would require the majority of the … Continue Reading
Join us for a webinar where Annette Demmel of our Data Privacy & Cybersecurity team will discuss how to create and implement an email retention schedule which balances privacy requirements, statutory retention periods and the practicability in day-to-day operations.… Continue Reading
It has been almost two years since the GDPR came into force and now the European Commission (“EC”) is set to undertake a review and eventually report on issues regarding the application of the GDPR. Specifically, the EC will report on the international transfer provisions and cooperation and consistency mechanisms between supervisory authorities. The EC … Continue Reading
Now that the GDPR has been in force for nearly two years, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”), along with a number of other EU supervisory authorities, has begun to issue fines to infringing data controllers and processors for failure to adequately act upon their personal data breach notification obligations and protect personal data they … Continue Reading
The French government has launched a public consultation on the transposition of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 December 11, 2018, establishing the EU Electronic Communications Code (EECC), which must be transposed before December 21, 2020. What Is It About? The consultation concerns the draft modification of the French Postal Services and Electronic Communications (CPCE) and French Consumer … Continue Reading
At present, companies acting as data controllers lack uniform interpretation of the rules that guide their compliance efforts to respond to data subject rights requests under the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Nevertheless, controllers are expected to adopt internal processes to address such requests in accordance with the applicable legislation. While some EU data protection … Continue Reading
Article 3(2) of the GDPR and the second criterion: Targeting criterion Article 3 of the GDPR defines the territorial scope of the regulation using two main criteria with respect to businesses: “Establishment” (Article 3(1)) and “Targeting” (Article 3(2)). Our first post in this series examined the “Establishment” criterion. In this post, we will move … Continue Reading
The General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679, or GDPR, has a much wider territorial scope than organisations may expect. Some organisations that are not established in the EU may have to comply with the GDPR. Even for groups established in the EU, their operations outside of the EU may, in certain circumstances, fall under the … Continue Reading
On Thursday, November 7, we will host the second webinar of our EU Webinar Series, “DPIAs – What You Need To Know.” Data Protection Impact Assessments are required under the GDPR and are indented to help organizations identify data security risks. Many data protection authorities have issued guidelines on when and how to conduct a … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, October 29, we will host the first webinar of our EU Webinar Series, “The Latest on EU Cookie Rules and Tracking Walls.” Topics will include: The impact of the GDPR on the cookie consent requirement The recent guidelines issued by the EU data protection authorities on cookie rules The recent case law and … Continue Reading
The European Data Protection Board has adopted final Guidelines on the processing of personal data using the “necessary perform a contract” lawful basis under Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR, in the context of the provision of online services. Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR provides a lawful basis for the processing of personal data to the … Continue Reading
On October 1 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its decision in the Planet49 case. The decision confirms much-anticipated and relevant principles regarding the use of consent for the processing of personal data and the use of cookies. Notably, it confirms that pre-ticked boxes do not constitute a legally valid consent, in … Continue Reading
In a press release published on March 12, 2019, the European Parliament and its member states reached a provisional agreement on new rules that will guarantee a high level of protection for whistleblowers who report breaches of EU law. The draft establishes a three-tier reporting system (that potentially allows the whistleblower to inform publicly or through media … Continue Reading
A hospital became one of the first organisations to face GDPR enforcement in Portugal in July 2018. The hospital received a €400,000 fine from the Portuguese regulator, Comissão Nacional de Protecção de Dados (“CNPD”) for various breaches of the GDPR. The hospital was fined for the following three violations of the GDPR: Breach of the … Continue Reading
The European Commission announced on 23 January 2019 that it has adopted an adequacy decision on Japan (its press release can be found here).[1] This is a result of the assessment process which began on 5 September 2018, the background of which can be found in our previous blog here. Japan’s data protection authority, the … Continue Reading
As users increasingly use nontraditional modes of communication, such as social media and instant messaging applications, email and VoIP, in place of traditional telephone and data services, so too must privacy laws evolve. The European Electronic Communications Code, proposed on December 4, 2018, expands the definition of electronic communications services to include these “over-the-top services.” … Continue Reading
Many data controllers would like to use the consent of data subjects to transfer data to countries outside the European Economic Area. Has the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (“GDPR”) made it easier use consent as a basis for international transfer than was the case under the Directive 95/46? Rules on international transfer under GDPR … Continue Reading
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has finally published its long-awaited draft guidelines 3/2018 on the territorial scope of GDPR (article 3) (“Draft Guidelines”). These are now subject to consultation until 18 January 2019. These Draft Guidelines are pertinent to companies outside of the EU seeking to determine whether the General Data Protection Regulation “GDPR” … Continue Reading
