General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

On July 10, 2023, the European Commission adopted its adequacy decision on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (“DPF”). The decision, which took effect on the day of its adoption, concludes that the United States ensures an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred from the EEA to companies certified to the DPF. This blog post summarizes the key findings of the decision, what organizations wishing to certify to the DPF need to do and the process for certifying, as well as the impact on other transfer mechanisms such as the standard contractual clauses (“SCCs”), and on transfers from the UK and Switzerland.…

Continue Reading European Commission Adopts Adequacy Decision on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework

On July 4, 2023, the European Commission published its proposal for a regulation laying down additional procedural rules relating to the enforcement of the GDPR.  The aim of the proposed Regulation is to clarify and harmonize the procedural rules that apply when EU supervisory authorities investigate complaint-based and ex officio cross-border cases (i.e., where the relevant processing conducted by a controller or processor  spans multiple Member States, resulting in a “lead” authority and additional “concerned” authorities).  If adopted, the Regulation will sit alongside the GDPR, complementing the existing cooperation and consistency mechanisms set forth in Chapter VII.…

Continue Reading European Commission Proposes GDPR Enforcement Procedure Regulation

On April 17, 2023, the Italian Supervisory Authority (“Garante”) published its decision against a company operating digital marketing services finding several GDPR violations, including the use of so-called “dark-patterns” to obtain users’ consent.  The Garante imposed a fine of 300.000 EUR. 

We provide below a brief overview of the Garante’s key findings.…

Continue Reading Italian Garante Fines Digital Marketing Company Over Use of Dark Patterns

On May 4, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘CJEU’) decided, in case C-487/21, that the right to obtain a ‘copy’ of personal data means that the data subject must be provided with a faithful and intelligible reproduction of all personal data.  This can also include documents or extracts from databases containing personal data, where it would be necessary to ensure that the personal data is intelligible, as per Article 15(3) GDPR.…

Continue Reading CJEU Clarifies the Right to Obtain a Copy of Personal Data under the GDPR

On 29 March 2023, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) published updated Guidance on AI and data protection (the “Guidance”) following “requests from UK industry to clarify requirements for fairness in AI”. AI has been a strategic priority for the ICO for several years. In 2020, the ICO published its first set of guidance on AI (as discussed in our blog post here) which it complemented with supplementary recommendations on Explaining Decisions Made with AI and an AI and Data Protection risk toolkit in 2022. The updated Guidance forms part of the UK’s wider efforts to adopt a “pro-innovation” approach to AI regulation which will require existing regulators to take responsibility for promoting and overseeing responsible AI within their sectors (for further information on the UK Government’s approach to AI regulation, see our blog post here).

The updated Guidance covers the ICO’s view of best practice for data protection-compliant AI, as well as how the ICO interprets data protection law in the context of AI systems that process personal data. The Guidance has been restructured in line with the UK GDPR’s data protection principles, and features new content, including guidance on fairness, transparency, lawfulness and accountability when using AI systems.…

Continue Reading UK ICO Updates Guidance on Artificial Intelligence and Data Protection

On February 28, 2023, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) released its non-binding opinion on the European Commission’s draft adequacy decision on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (“DPF”).  The adequacy decision, once formally adopted, will establish a new legal basis by which organizations in the EU (as well as the three EEA states of Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) may lawfully transfer personal data to the U.S., provided that the recipient in the U.S. certifies to and abides by the terms of the DPF (see our previous blogpost here). 

The Commission sought the EDPB’s opinion pursuant to Article 71(1)(s) of the GDPR.  The EDPB welcomes the fact that elements of the DPF represent a substantial improvement over the Privacy Shield, which was annulled by the EU Court of Justice (“CJEU”) in Schrems II (see our previous blogpost here).  Nonetheless, the EDPB notes some concerns and seeks clarification on certain aspects of the DPF from the Commission.  For example, the EDPB welcomes the establishment of a specific mechanism by which non-U.S. persons may seek redress for certain U.S. government surveillance of their personal data, but calls on the Commission to closely monitor the implementation of this mechanism in practice.…

Continue Reading EDPB Releases its Opinion on the Proposed EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework

On February 22, 2023, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) released its Work Program for 2023-2024 (“the Program”), outlining the key priority areas for the next two years.  The Program is divided into four pillars, which largely reflect the priorities already set out in its Strategy 2021-2023.…

Continue Reading EDPB Releases its 2023-2024 Work Program

On December 20th, 2022, the French Data Protection Authority (“CNIL”) closed down an investigation against a US company providing a browser extension (the “Company”), after finding that its activities were not subject to the GDPR. The CNIL’s decision is available here in French.

The Company provides a browser extension (the “Extension”) allowing users to obtain…

On October 7, 2022, President Biden signed an Executive Order directing the steps that the United States will take to implement its commitments under the new EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.  The framework was announced by the U.S. and the EU Commission in March 2022, after reaching a political agreement in principle (see our blog post…