In a new post on the Covington Digital Health blog, our colleagues discuss a new European Cloud in Health Advisory Council whitepaper calling for a review of European healthcare data protection rules holding back greater adoption of cloud computing and AI; and for more discussion about the ethics and governance of re-use of patient data for research and planning. To read … Continue Reading
As we approach the May 2018 effective date of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), there have been a number of global developments over the last few months with respect to the so-called “right to be forgotten,” which will be codified under Article 17 of the GDPR. European Developments In the EU, we previously … Continue Reading
On Thursday, April 20th, the UK government launched a “Call for Views” regarding the UK’s options for the implementation of the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) at national level. The consultation deadline is May 10th, at mid-day UK time. Although the GDPR was an effort to bring greater harmonization to data protection regimes … Continue Reading
By Denitsa Marinova On April 11, 2017, the Data Protection Commissioner of Ireland (DPC) published her annual report for 2016, highlighting key developments and activities for the past year and outlining priorities for 2017 and beyond. The report will be of interest to Irish entities and multinational organizations with a base in Ireland, including companies … Continue Reading
By Dan Cooper and Rosie Klement On April 2, 2017, the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) released a consultation paper for UK organizations to comment on how the new profiling provisions under the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) could be interpreted and applied when the GDPR comes into force in May 2018. The public consultation on … Continue Reading
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which enforces data protection legislation in the UK, has fined a company £20,000 (approximately 24,000 USD / 23,000 EUR) for not exercising sufficient due diligence when buying and using marketing databases. The ICO found that over 580,000 individuals’ contact details had been obtained by The Data Supply Company Ltd … Continue Reading
On March 9, 2017, the Court of Justice of the EU (“CJEU”) handed down a ruling limiting the reach of its prior “right to be forgotten” jurisprudence, by holding that the right does not prevail over society’s interest in access to official public records of company details required by law.… Continue Reading
By Dan Cooper and Rosie Klement On March 2, 2017, the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) released draft guidance for UK organizations on how the notion of consent will be interpreted and applied when the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) comes into force in May 2018. The ICO is currently engaging in a public consultation on … Continue Reading
The Article 29 Working Party (“WP29”) – the representatives of national data protection regulators in the EU – has issued new guidance on three important aspects of the new General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which comes into force in May 2018. This first salvo of GDPR-focused guidance concerns: the new “Right to Data Portability”, an … Continue Reading
On August 31, 2016, a bill was presented to the Luxembourg Parliament (the “Bill”) to amend the Law of August 2, 2002, on the Protection of Persons with regard to the Processing of Personal Data. The Bill aims to reduce the current administrative burden and anticipates the application of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) … Continue Reading
Last week, the European Data Protection Supervisor (the “EDPS”), in collaboration with European consumer organisation BEUC, hosted a joint conference on Big Data: individual rights and smart enforcement in Brussels (for the conference agenda, see here). The conference brought together leading regulators and experts in the areas of competition, data protection and consumer protection, including … Continue Reading
On June 16, 2016, the French data protection authority (“CNIL”) launched a public consultation on the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR). The consultation focuses on four priority themes set out in the Article 29 Working Party’s 2016 Action plan: the data protection officer; the right to data portability; data protection impact assessments; and certification.… Continue Reading
On May 12, 2016, The French High Court (“Cour de Cassation”) rendered a short decision stating that the right to be forgotten does not supersede the freedom of press. In this case, two brothers took legal action against a famous French daily newspaper. The two individuals requested that their respective names be removed from search results … Continue Reading
On May 30, the European Data Protection Supervisor (the “EDPS”) issued an opinion on the Privacy Shield, see opinion here and press release here. The EDPS acknowledged that the European Commission’s draft adequacy decision on the Privacy Shield is a step in the right direction and shows a number of improvements compared to the EU-U.S. … Continue Reading
This morning (May 26, 2016) the European Parliament (“EP”) approved a non-binding resolution on the proposed EU – U.S. Privacy Shield (see resolution here and press release here). The resolution is far more positive in relation to the Privacy Shield than some of the proposals floated by some political groups earlier this week (see, for instance, the resolution proposed … Continue Reading
As forecast in our latest blog on the topic (available here), the European Parliament today voted into law a new General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) that will replace the EU’s all-encompassing Data Protection Directive as of mid-2018. Today’s vote brings to a close a legislative process that has lasted nearly five years; the law’s official publication, which should be … Continue Reading
By Ezra Steinhardt and Vera Coughlan Following the expected approval of the final text of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) in the European Parliament this week, the Commission is now turning its attention towards the ePrivacy Directive. On Monday (April 11, 2016), the Commission launched a public consultation to review and propose changes to the … Continue Reading
By Phil Bradley-Schmieg and Vera Coughlan. This post has been updated to include links to the final texts and comparisons with preceding drafts. After three months of legal-linguistic checks and translations, the EU is poised to formally adopt the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its sister law, the EU Policing and Criminal Justice … Continue Reading
By Monika Kuschewsky Today, a German law to strengthen the private enforcement of certain data protection provisions that aim to protect consumers (the Law) entered in to force, following its publication in the Official Journal yesterday. We previously reported on the draft law here. The Law empowers certain qualified associations to seek injunctive relief against companies … Continue Reading
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (see the latest text here), which was approved at the political level last week, heralds a new era of data protection in the EU and beyond. The GDPR imposes numerous new obligations on companies both within and outside the EU, strengthens the rights of individuals and foresees stiff penalties … Continue Reading
Needless to say, the document most of us are reading now is the 209-page General Data Protection Regulation, just agreed upon by the institutions of the European Union. A few parts are quite a page-turner. (Parental consent for under-16s to access the Internet? Srsly?) But even with this scintillating read, we find ourselves reaching for … Continue Reading
By Vera Coughlan and Monika Kuschewsky This morning, the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee (“LIBE”) formally adopted the result of the negotiations on the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The text of GDPR was the outcome of trilogue negotiations between the European Parliament and Council and the Commission, which concluded … Continue Reading
By Monika Kuschewsky, Charlotte Ryckman and Vera Coughlan Today, the EU institutions reached the long-awaited political agreement on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will fundamentally change the EU privacy landscape (for the Commission press release see here and the European Parliament press release here). Almost four years after the publication of the legislative … Continue Reading
A second round of “trilogue” negotiation on the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), on July 14th, has addressed the law’s territorial scope and rules relating to international data transfers (Articles 3 and Chapter 5, respectively). Although no agreed text has been released, public comments made by Jan Philipp Albrecht, the European Parliament’s lead negotiator … Continue Reading
