In July 2021, the European Commission (the Commission) adopted three proposals for regulations and one proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council in relation to reforms to the EU’s anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) regime. The proposals serve to implement aspects of the Commission’s May 2020 action plan … Continue Reading
On 24 September 2021, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) issued its opinion on the European Commission’s (EC) draft adequacy decision in respect of South Korea. On 16 June 2021, the EC launched the procedure for the adoption of an adequacy decision for South Korea under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which would allow free transfers of … Continue Reading
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) adopted Joint Opinion 5/2021 on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Joint Opinion). The Joint Opinion follows the European Commission’s (Commission) Proposal for a Regulation of the European … Continue Reading
In its Schrems II decision (which we reported on here) the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) found that the Privacy Shield framework, which had been used to facilitate data transfers from the EU to the US, did not adequately protect the personal data of EU users. The use of standard contractual clauses … Continue Reading
The European Commission is considering amending the existing rules for the financial sector regarding digital operational resilience, with a view to unifying and strengthening the legal framework in this area. The proposed change to legislation would amend the existing Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive and create a new regulation on digital operational resilience, known … Continue Reading
On April 21, 2021, a draft proposed European regulation on artificial intelligence (AI) (Regulation) was released following the European Commission’s white paper “On Artificial Intelligence – A European approach to excellence and trust”, published in February 2020. The regulation shows that the European Union is seeking to establish a legal framework for AI by laying … Continue Reading
On the 14th of April 2021, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted two opinions on the European Commission’s draft adequacy decision for the transfers of personal data from the EU to the UK. The EDPB assessed the alignment of the UK Data Protection Act to the GDPR and to the Law Enforcement Directive, and … Continue Reading
The European Commission published a draft decision on UK adequacy for transfers of personal data from the EU to the UK, which you can read here. This EC conducted an assessment of the UK’s GDPR framework under the UK Data Protection Act 2018, including data protection rules applicable to UK law enforcement and national security … Continue Reading
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) announced their joint opinions on the draft standard contractual clauses (SCCs) previously published by the European Commission in November 2020. The opinions cover the SCCs between controllers and processors and the SCCs for the transfer of personal data to third countries. We … Continue Reading
With the end of the Brexit transition period quickly approaching on 31 December 2020, the future of international data transfers between the UK and the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) remains somewhat unclear. As background, Article 44 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) prohibits the transfer of personal data from the … Continue Reading
On 12 November 2020, the European Commission released draft updated standard contractual clauses (SCCs) for consultation (available here). The current SCCs were adopted by the Commission before the GDPR came into force. The CJEU’s decision in the Schrems II case has given greater urgency to updating the current SCCs. Once approved, the new SCCs will … Continue Reading
On 12 November 2020, the European Commission released its first draft set of clauses covering the Article 28 GDPR requirements, for consultation (available here). Article 28 of the GDPR governs the relationship between controllers and processors. In particular, Articles 28(3) and (4) outline the details that must be included in a data processing agreement between … Continue Reading
Following a previous European Commission recommendation to support the gradual lifting of coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions through mobile data and apps, on 19 October 2020, the European Commission has set up an EU-wide system for the interoperability of track and trace apps. Background National contact tracing and warning apps can play a key role in all … Continue Reading
On 13th May, the European Commission’s eHealth Network published its interoperability guidelines for approved contact tracing mobile applications in the EU, guiding developers when designing and implementing applications and backend solutions to ensure efficient tracing of cross-border infection chains. These guidelines serve as a follow-up action to their previously published ‘Common EU Toolbox for Member … Continue Reading
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
Never one to miss a bandwagon, the European Commission has published three documents to mark the first year of GDPR: a Eurobarometer survey on data protection (Eurobarometer Survey); a multi-stakeholder expert group (MEG Report); and guidance on the free flow of non-personal data within the EU (reported on here). We set out some of the … Continue Reading
The new Regulation (EU) 2018/1807 on a framework for the free flow of non-personal data in the EU (Free Flow of Non-Personal Data Regulation), which we discussed in a previous blog, became applicable from 28 May 2019. Together with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), the two regulations now provide a “comprehensive framework … Continue Reading
On 12 March 2019, the European Parliament issued its first position on the text proposed by the European Commission for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on ENISA (the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security), also known as the EU Cybersecurity Act. Initiatives to build strong EU-wide cybersecurity The … Continue Reading
On February 14, 2019 the European Commission, European Parliament and Council of the European Union agreed to implement new rules designed to ensure a fair, transparent and predictable business environment to the benefit of both end consumers and entrepreneurs using third-party online platforms for their business. The Council and European Parliament will adopt these new … Continue Reading
On 23 January 2019, the European Commission adopted an adequacy decision for Japan, with immediate effect. The decision certifies Japan as having a comparable level of data protection to that of the European Union. On the same day, Japan adopted an equivalent decision regarding the EU’s data protection regime. This is the first example of … Continue Reading
In April 2018 the European Commission (Commission) published its Communication on the digital transformation of health and care in the Digital Single Market (Communication). The Commission outlined the need for reforms to health care systems and the development of innovative digital solutions. On 6 December 2018, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) published its … Continue Reading
On 22 June 2018, the European Commission published a factsheet that provides a visual summary of the actions taken to date to implement its Digital Single Market strategy. The Digital Single Market strategy refers to the European Commission’s mission to ensure access to online activities for individuals and businesses under conditions of fair competition, consumer … Continue Reading
On 5 July 2018, the European Parliament demanded in a resolution that the European Commission suspends its EU-U.S. Privacy Shield unless the U.S. administration introduces adequate data protection safeguards by 1 September 2018. The Privacy Shield agreement is aimed at facilitating data transfers of EU personal data to the United States. The non-binding resolution was … Continue Reading
You may well remember our blog from last year which outlined the Commission’s proposal for a framework in relation to the free flow of non-personal data in September 2017 (you can view our blog here). On 19 June 2018, the European Parliament, Council and the European Commission reached a political agreement on the rules that … Continue Reading
