INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS

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 EU/EEA to recipients in jurisdictions outside the EU/EEA, unless specific conditions are met. One such condition under the GDPR is an “adequacy decision” granted by the European Commission. If a third country is deemed adequate by the European Commission, the personal data can be transferred to that country without any additional safeguards being required.Continue Reading The UK is preparing its adequacy decisions post Brexit

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 repeal the current SCCs. Data controllers and processors alike will therefore need to re-paper their agreements.

The main changes introduced by the draft SCCs are summarised below.Continue Reading European Commission releases draft updated standard contractual clauses

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 a controller and a processor (e.g. purpose and duration of processing, details of the measures used to ensure security of data) as well as the obligations that apply to the processor (e.g. processing only on the documented instructions of the controller, implementation of security measures, assistance).

The clauses offer a useful insight into the Commission’s expectations on data processing agreements, which should assist organisations with any review (and, if required, development) of their data processing agreement templates.Continue Reading European Commission publishes draft Article 28 clauses for consultation

On 11 November 2020, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) released recommendations on supplementary measures for international transfers (here) and recommendations on the European Essential Guarantees for surveillance measures (here), following the Schrems II decision (see our previous blog here).

As a result of the Schrems II decision, data exporters who use certain transfer mechanisms as an appropriate safeguard for personal data during international transfers, such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), are required, on a case by case basis, to assess whether the law of the third country provides a level of protection that is essentially equivalent to that guaranteed in the European Economic Area (EEA). If such protections are not equivalent, data exporters should consider whether any supplementary measures can be implemented to fill the gaps in protection.Continue Reading The European Data Protection Board releases recommendations on supplementary measures following the Schrems II decision