Personal data transfers between the UK and the EU post-Brexit On 24 December 2020, after four years of tears and frustration, the United Kingdom (‘UK’) and the European Union (‘EU’) have finally reached an agreement; the so-called EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (‘TCA’). The TCA regulates multiple legal issues regarding the relationship between the UK […]
mb-firstprivacyenglisch
Switzerland adopts revised data protection law
The protection of personal data is becoming more and more relevant. This is a result of the rapid advancement of communication and sales channels as well as the increasing capacities of companies to collect personal data. The Swiss Parliament seemingly acknowledged this too when it recently announced that it adopted the revised version of the […]
Need-to-know? Health care providers under scrutiny by Swedish Authority
The Swedish Data Protection Authority took a closer look at eight health care providers in Sweden. Special attention was paid to technical and organizational measures of their systems processing electronic health records. Access to personal data in general should be not only regulated in regards to external providers but also internal personnel. The often referenced […]
Deletion of personal data – FAQ‘s
A perennial topic among the data protection issues is the deletion of personal data. We regularly receive inquiries on this topic. In the following, we would like to answer some of the most frequently asked questions. When do I have to delete personal data? There are no rigid retention periods in the GDPR, but the […]
Conseil de’etat ruling on the Data Health Hub: The start of Schrems III or rather a turning point?
The derogation to the restriction to transfer data to the USA on the basis of the Covid-19 pandemic. Introduction On 23 October 2020 the Conseil d’etat, a French public institution with the primary role of giving administrative judicial rulings, (‘the Conseil’) ruled on the issue whether the use of Microsoft to host the Health Data […]
News on data protection law
Dear Readers, This is to update you on the latest news and developments in matters of data protection law. If you would like to be provided with more details, you may contact us via the commentary function. We will also link to our blog posts if we have already reported on this topic. What has […]
Who is the controller for data processing and who is the processor?
An attempt at delimitation by the European Data Protection Board On 2 September 2020, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted a first version of a guideline on the concepts of data controller and processor in the GDPR, which we would like to briefly present here. The guidelines are currently only available in English. The […]
France and Apps/Websites: What do the latest CNIL recommendations say?
The Comission Nationale de l’informatique et des libertés, the French Data Protection Authority (‘CNIL’) published FAQs and a new guideline regarding cookies on October 1st, 2020. This guideline that was previously publicly consulted between January 14th to February 25th, 2020 has been developed in consultation with digital advertising stakeholders and civil societies. Stakeholders are requested […]
New California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) Secured Enough Signatures for Ballot
You may have heard of the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) which entered into effect at the beginning of this year. You can find more information here. In the state ballot in November 2020, Californians will be asked to decide the fate of another new privacy law, the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). The proposition […]
Are portable body temperature cameras GDPR compliant?
According to the French Conseil d’Etat: No! In order to combat Covid-19, the French municipality of Lisses installed one fixed thermal camera in a municipal building that was able to report excessive body temperatures. Additionally, several portable thermal cameras were entrusted to municipal officials who at the entrance of schools could measure excessive temperatures of […]
The CJEU rules in favour of Schrems and invalidates Privacy Shield Decision
In a landmark ruling (‘Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland and Maximilian Schrems’)[1], the CJEU invalidated the Privacy Shield Decision[2], whereby the Commission had determined that the United States ensured an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred from the Union to organisations in the US. Many organisations involved in transborder data transactions will […]
Is it a duty to notify the Supervisory Authorities of the appointment of the Data Protection Officer under the GDPR?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in article 37.2 mentions the possibility of appointing a Data Protection Officer (DPO) for a business group, provided that the DPO is accessible from each establishment. This article has led to the conclusion that by appointing a DPO for the group the obligation is met. However, it is relevant […]
USA: Email marketing rules under the CAN-SPAM Act
There exists a misconception across Europe that the USA does not have any state laws enacted which protect consumer rights and privacy of consumers. The European Commission has enacted a very powerful tool with the implementation and development of the GDPR, which sometimes makes us reconsider other country’s rules. The USA has a wide range […]
Right to deletion? Dutch Court: Not if overriding interests exist!
Dutch Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal (hereinafter “Court”) seems to give insides on what accounts to an overriding interest according to Art. 21 para. 1 GDPR, when considering the right to deletion according to Art. 17 para. 1 lit. c GDPR (see here). Facts The data subject who works as an accountant had provided false information […]
Belgian DPA issues €50.000 fine on an Organisation for non-compliance with GDPR DPO appointment procedure
The Organisation (defendant) designated their Head of Compliance, Risk and Audit as their Data Protection Officer (DPO). The DPA ruled that in doing so, the Organisation violated art. 38(6) GDPR which requires that any tasks of the data protection officer do not result in a conflict of interest. According to the defendant, no conflict of […]