If you can remember as far back as December 2021, we published a blog post announcing that the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published draft guidelines on the interplay between the territorial scope of the GDPR and the international transfer requirements. Following what must have been an extensive consultation, we are pleased to report that those guidelines were finally finalised on 14 February 2023 (here) and, are even more pleased to report that they contain some very useful illustrations to help you make sense of the concept of international data transfers.

Continue Reading The EDPB makes its mind up about transfers

The winter 2023 edition of the quarterly IT & Data Protection Newsletter by Reed Smith Germany has just been released:

English version

German version

Continue Reading Get your update on IT & data protection law in our newsletter (Winter 2023 edition)

On the 18th of January, the EDPB published the adopted report of the work undertaken by the Cookie Banner Taskforce. The Cookie Banner Taskforce was established in September 2021 in accordance with article 70(1) (u) GDPR to coordinate the response to complaints concerning cookie banners filed with several supervisory authorities by the non-profit organization, NOYB, run by Max Schrems. The aim of this Taskforce was to promote cooperation, information sharing, and best practices between the supervisory authorities.

Continue Reading EU-Cookie banner taskforce report: what you need to know

On 6 October 2022, the Advocate General (Campos Sánchez-Bordona) issued his opinion in UI v Österreichische Post AG on the interpretation of the rules on civil liability under the GDPR .

He concluded that a data subject must have suffered harm in order to claim compensation, and that breach of the GDPR alone was not sufficient.  There is also a distinction to be drawn between mere upset (which does not give rise to a right for compensation) and non-material damage (which does).

Continue Reading ‘Mere upset’ insufficient for compensation under the GDPR

Meta-owned Instagram has been fined €405 million by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) for violations of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), following a two year investigation into how the social media platform handles children’s data. This is the largest fine imposed by the DPC to date. Below, we highlight some of the key issues arising in the case.

Continue Reading Irish DPC fines Instagram a record €405 million

The Summer 2022 Edition of the quarterly IT & Data Protection Newsletter by Reed Smith Germany has just been released:

English version

German version

Continue Reading Get your Update on IT & Data Protection Law in our Newsletter (Summer 2022 Edition)

Four years ago, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) came into force in the EU. Since then, the GDPR has had a domino effect, as many countries in the world have used it as a model to shape their own rules on the handling of personal data. Given the rapid changes in data protection legislation around the world, legal and compliance teams of multinational organisations are under pressure to keep up with such developments as they continuously adapt their compliance programs in response.

Continue Reading The fourth anniversary of the GDPR: How the GDPR has had a domino effect

The Winter 2022 Edition of the quarterly IT & Data Protection Newsletter by Reed Smith Germany has just been released:

English version

German version

Continue Reading Get your Update on IT & Data Protection Law in our Newsletter (Winter 2022 Edition)

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. As a value add, the EU SCCs were updated to reflect the GDPR requirements and also enabled organisations to cover a wider range of data flows than their previous versions due to the addition of ‘processor-to-processor’ and ‘processor-to-controller’ scenarios. Binding Corporate Rules (“BCRs”), another transfer tool available under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), have not yet been updated to reflect the same flexibility in reflecting the diversity of data flows and presently appear to be limited in use in comparison. It is expected that the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) will publish updated BCR requirements in 2022.
Continue Reading So you have got BCRs? You may still need to use the new EU SCCs