Photo of Anna Oberschelp de Meneses

Anna Sophia Oberschelp de Meneses is an associate in the Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group.  Anna is a qualified Portuguese lawyer, but is both a native Portuguese and German speaker.  Anna advises companies on European data protection law and helps clients coordinate international data protection law projects.  She has obtained a certificate for "corporate data protection officer" by the German Association for Data Protection and Data Security ("Gesellschaft für Datenschutz und Datensicherheit e.V."). She is also Certified Information Privacy Professional Europe (CIPPE/EU) by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).  Anna also advises companies in the field of EU consumer law and has been closely tracking the developments in this area.  Her extensive language skills allow her to monitor developments and help clients tackle EU Data Privacy, Cybersecurity and Consumer Law issues in various EU and ROW jurisdictions.

On November 28, 2022, the European Commission launched a public consultation on whether the following three EU consumer laws remain adequate for ensuring a high level of consumer protection in the digital environment:

  • the Consumer Rights Directive (Directive 2011/83/EU, as amended), which sets out the minimum information traders must provide to EU consumers and which offers consumers certain rights, such as the right to withdraw from a contract;
  • the Unfair Contract Terms Directive (Directive 93/13/EEC, as amended), which prohibits terms in “standardized” (i.e., non-negotiable) business-to-consumer agreements that cause a significant imbalance between the parties rights and obligations to the detriment of consumers; and
  • the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (Directive 2005/29/EC, as amended), which prohibits commercial practices considered unfair, for example, because they are misleading or aggressive.

The public consultation consists of filling out a short questionnaire, which needs to be submitted by February 20, 2023.  It is aimed at stakeholders that operate in the digital environment, such as online platforms.

Continue Reading New Data Laws Prompt European Commission to Open Consultation on EU Consumer Laws

On December 28, 2022, the Spanish Data Protection Authority (“AEPD”) published a statement on the interplay between its recently approved Spanish code of conduct for the pharmaceutical industry and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations’ (“EFPIA”) proposal for an EU code of conduct on clinical trials and pharmacovigilance.  The statement relates specifically to the legal basis for processing personal data in the context of clinical trials.

Continue Reading The Spanish AEPD Publishes Statement on the Interplay Between its Code of Conduct for the Pharmaceutical Industry and the Potential EU Code of Conduct on Clinical Trials

On December 15, 2022, the Advocate Generals (“AG”) of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) issued two separate opinions in cases C‑487/21 and C‑579/21 on the right of access, pursuant to Article 15 GDPR.  The first case concerns the proper interpretation and application of Article 15(3), which permits a data subject to obtain a “copy” of their personal data, among other things. The second case concerns whether the right of access includes the right to receive the identity of the controller’s employees, who are processing the data subject’s personal data in the scope of their employment.

Continue Reading CJEU’s Advocate General Issues Opinions on the GDPR’s Right of Access to Personal Data

On December 14, 2022, the members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) (which includes various EU Member States, Mexico, Turkey, the UK and the United States) and the EU, adopted the Declaration on Government Access to Personal Data held by Private Sector Entities (“Declaration”). 

Continue Reading OECD and the EU adopt Declaration on Government Access to Personal Data

On October 6, 2022, the Advocate General (“AG”) of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) released an opinion in case C-300/21 to the effect that a controller or processor’s non-compliance with the GDPR does not automatically entitle data subjects to receive compensation for non-material damages pursuant to Article 82 GDPR.  According to the AG, compensation is meant to remedy the consequences caused by a breach of the GDPR, and therefore a data subject must have suffered damage that he or she can affirmatively demonstrate.

Continue Reading CJEU Advocate General Issues Opinion on Non-Material Damages for GDPR Breach

On October 18 and 21, 2022, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB“) published updated guidelines (i) on personal data breach notification under the GDPR and (ii) on identifying a controller or processor’s lead supervisory authority, respectively. Both guidelines are in draft form and are open to public consultation until the end of November.

Continue Reading EDPB Publishes Updated Guidelines on Personal Data Breach Notification and Identifying the Lead Supervisory Authority

The upcoming date of December 27, 2022, marks the end of the roughly one year and a half-long transition period that companies had to replace any the old versions of the standard contractual clauses for international transfers of personal data by the new standard contractual clauses, which the European Commission adopted on June 4, 2021.  As of December 27, 2022, EU Supervisory Authorities may start GDPR enforcement proceedings against any companies that still on to the old version of the standard contractual clauses.

Covington is well placed to assisting clients in amending their contracts to take into account the new standard contractual clauses and, more generally, to ensure compliance with the GDPR rules on international data transfers.

Continue Reading Countdown for Implementing the New EU Data Transfer Contracts and Overview of other EU Transfer Developments

On September 28, 2022, the European Commission published its long-promised proposal for an AI Liability Directive.  The draft Directive is intended to complement the EU AI Act, which the EU’s institutions are still negotiating.  In parallel, the European Commission also published its proposal to update the EU’s 1985 Product Liability Directive.  If adopted, the proposals will change the liability rules for software and AI systems in the EU.

The draft AI Liability Directive establishes rules applicable to non-contractual, fault-based civil claims involving AI systems.  Specifically, the proposal establishes rules that would govern the preservation and disclosure of evidence in cases involving high-risk AI, as well as rules on the burden of proof and corresponding rebuttable presumptions.  If adopted as proposed, the draft AI Liability Directive will apply to damages that occur two years or more after the Directive enters into force; five years after its entry into force, the Commission will consider the need for rules on no-fault liability for AI claims.

As for the draft Directive on Liability of Defective Products, if adopted, EU Member States will have one year from its entry into force to implement it in their national laws.  The draft Directive would apply to products placed on the market one year after it enters into force.

Continue Reading European Commission Publishes Directive on the Liability of Artificial Intelligence Systems

On October 4, 2022, the EU adopted the Digital Services Act (“DSA”), which imposes new rules on providers of intermediary services (e.g., cloud services, file-sharing services, search engines, social networks and online marketplaces).  The DSA will enter into force on November 16, 2022 — although it will only fully apply as of February 17, 2024. 

Continue Reading EU Adopts Digital Services Act