Tag Archives: Data Transfers

Time to change to the new EU and UK Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)

By Cynthia O’Donoghue, Dr. Andreas Splittgerber and Asélle Ibraimova on Posted in Global Data Transfers, Privacy & Data Protection
As you might know, the new EU SCCs were published last year. The UK has now issued new templates for data transfers that can be used from 21 March 2022. With the UK templates confirmed and available, many multinational organisations with presence in the EU and the UK are gearing up to transition their contracts … Continue Reading

So you have got BCRs? You may still need to use the new EU SCCs

By Christian Leuthner and Asélle Ibraimova on Posted in Global Data Transfers
The arrival of the new EU Standard Contractual Clauses (“EU SCCs”) for international transfers in June 2021 was widely awaited to better understand the new requirements to assess the third-country laws for government access to data prior to using the SCCs following the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (“CJEU”) decision on Schrems II. … Continue Reading

German court prohibits U.S. data transfers in “Cookiebot” decision: Why this decision is special and should alert, but not upset your organization

By Dr. Andreas Splittgerber and Sven Schonhofen on Posted in Cookies, Tracking & Online Behavioral Advertising, In the Courts, Privacy & Data Protection, Regulatory
On December 1, 2021, in a much-noted decision, the Administrative Court of Wiesbaden (AC Wiesbaden) handed down a preliminary injunction dealing with international data transfers (case 6 L 738/21.WI, available in German here). In the specific case, there was no data transfer mechanism in place and thus the court ordered the defendant to stop using … Continue Reading

New automated data transfer tool launched

By Cynthia O’Donoghue and Dr. Andreas Splittgerber on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
Reed Smith announced the launch of DaTA Transfer Pathway, an innovative new automated data transfer tool designed to assist organisations comply with recent changes in EU case law and EU data protection guidelines. Stemming from the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU) Schrems II decision relating to EU-US data transfers and in light … Continue Reading

Get your Update on IT & Data Protection Law in our Newsletter (Summer 2021 Edition)

By Dr. Andreas Splittgerber and Sven Schonhofen on Posted in Cookies, Tracking & Online Behavioral Advertising, In the Courts, Intellectual Property, Privacy & Data Protection, Regulatory
The Summer 2021 Edition of the quarterly IT & Data Protection Newsletter by Reed Smith Germany has just been released: English version German version In this edition we cover the following topics: Update on international data transfers State Labour Court of Baden-Württemberg: No claim for damages for transferring personal data to the United States on … Continue Reading

The European Data Protection Board adopts guidelines on codes of conduct as a tool for transfers

By Cynthia O’Donoghue and Angelika Bialowas on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
During its 51st plenary session on 7th July 2021, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted guidelines on codes of conduct as tools for transfers (CoC Guidelines). The CoC Guidelines are available here. The CoC Guidelines support and complement the previous EDPB Guidelines on CoCs published in 2019 (2019 Guidelines) that established the general framework … Continue Reading

UK adequacy decision for European data transfers

By Cynthia O’Donoghue and Sarah O'Brien on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
On the 28th June 2021, the European Commission (Commission) adopted two adequacy decisions for the UK; one covering the GDPR and the other the Law Enforcement Directive (LED). Such decisions demonstrate that the Commission believes the UK ensures an ‘essentially equivalent’ level of protection to that within the EU. The implication of these decisions is … Continue Reading

The ICO offers guidance on personal data transfers to the SEC

By Cynthia O’Donoghue and Sarah O'Brien on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
On 19 January 2021, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), published a letter dated 11 September 2020, available here, explaining that personal data transfers from UK based companies to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the purposes of regulatory compliance may be permitted under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Background Firms regulated by the … Continue Reading

Get your Update on IT & Data Protection Law in our Newsletter (Fall 2020 Edition)

By Dr. Andreas Splittgerber, Sven Schonhofen and Arne Senger on Posted in In the Courts, Privacy & Data Protection, Regulatory, Social, Mobile, Analytics & Cloud (SMAC)
The Fall 2020 Edition of the quarterly IT & Data Protection Newsletter by Reed Smith Germany has just been released: English version German version In this edition we cover the following topics: 1. Data transfers following Schrems II 2. German Supreme Court: Relationship between the GDPR and the German Act on the Protection of Copyrights … Continue Reading

GDPR vs. U.S. discovery: The conflict continues

By Katalina Bateman and Karen Lee Lust on Posted in In the Courts
Recent cases have highlighted the continued tensions between the GDPR and U.S. demands for discovery in the context of U.S. litigation and investigations. This issue can present a real concern for companies operating on both sides of the pond seeking to comply with obligations on either side. Whilst the GDPR provides EU citizens with valuable … Continue Reading

No, we haven’t forgotten about Brexit: UKTF publishes a draft agreement for the future EU-UK partnership

By Cynthia O’Donoghue and Sarah O'Brien on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
On 18 March, the Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom (UKTF) of the European Commission published its Draft Text of the Agreement on the New Partnership with the United Kingdom (Draft Agreement). It translates the negotiating directives, approved by Member States, into a legal text, in line with the Political Declaration agreed between … Continue Reading

‘No deal’ Brexit: ICO and UK government issue data protection guidance

By Cynthia O’Donoghue and John O'Brien on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) have each issued no-deal Brexit data protection guidance. EU/UK personal data transfers The UK government has committed to incorporating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) into domestic UK law when the UK leaves the EU. This means there will not … Continue Reading

Article 29 Working Party publishes updated guidance on adequacy referential

By Cynthia O’Donoghue and Kirill Albrecht on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
On 28 November 2017, the Article 29 Working Party (‘WP29’) published a working document updating its previous guidance on transfers of personal data to third countries (WP12), (‘WP29 Document’). WP29 has reviewed its earlier guidance in the context of the General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’) and recent case law of the European Court of Justice … Continue Reading

Article 29 Working Party issues new guidelines for Binding Corporate Rules

By Cynthia O’Donoghue and Curtis McCluskey on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
The Article 29 Working Party (WP29) has published updated guidelines on Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) to reflect the requirements set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The two documents, which replace previous WP29 working papers (WP 153 and WP 195) and remain open for public consultation until January 17, 2018, are: (i) Working … Continue Reading

European Commission publishes first annual report on EU-US Privacy Shield.

By Cynthia O’Donoghue, Bart Huffman and Gerard Stegmaier on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
Following our previous blog on the upcoming first annual review of the EU-US Privacy Shield, the European Commission (“Commission”) published its report on 18 October 2017 (“Report”). The Commission’s Findings Overall, the Report confirms that the Privacy Shield continues to ensure an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred from the EU to participating … Continue Reading

UK Government publishes its position on UK-EU data transfers post-Brexit

By Cynthia O’Donoghue and Eleanor Brooks on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
The UK Government has published a position paper (“the Paper”), which will form part of a series of papers setting out key issues forming the Government’s vision for their partnership with the EU post-Brexit. The Paper explains how it intends to resolve the much-debated issue of UK-EU data transfers post-Brexit. This issue is a real … Continue Reading

Upcoming first annual review of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield

By Sven Schonhofen, Dr. Alexander Hardinghaus and Friederike Wilde-Detmering on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
During the week of 18 September 2017, the European Commission and the Article 29 Working Party (“WP29”) will undertake the first annual review of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (“Privacy Shield”). The meetings will take place in the United States. As for the U.S. side, the U.S. Department of Commerce will conduct the review, and it … Continue Reading

House of Lords publishes report on Brexit and the EU Data Protection Package

By Cynthia O’Donoghue and Philip Thomas on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
The House of Lords EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee (“the Committee”) has published a report on the EU Data Protection Package and the impact of Brexit (“the Report”). The Report considers the implications of the UK’s exit from the EU for cross-border data transfers, and for UK data protection policy more generally. The Report looks at … Continue Reading

CJEU has released Opinion on EU-Canada Passenger Name Record Agreement – What it means for international data transfer mechanisms

By Sven Schonhofen and Dr. Alexander Hardinghaus on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
In the Opinion 1/15 of 26 July 2017 (“Opinion”), the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) held that the proposed agreement between the EU and Canada on the transfer and processing of Passenger Name Record (“PNR”) data may not be concluded in its current form. The Opinion is available here. The CJEU said that … Continue Reading

House of Commons publishes briefing paper on Brexit and data protection

By Cynthia O’Donoghue and Katalina Bateman on Posted in Privacy & Data Protection
The House of Commons Library, which aims to provide impartial research and analysis to MPs and their staff, has published a briefing paper on the impact of Brexit on data protection law in the UK (“the Paper”). The Paper summarises the background to EU data protection law and notes that inconsistent implementation of the Data … Continue Reading
LexBlog