EU finds UK has adequate protections for personal data

On 28 June 2021, the EU Commission found that the UK provides adequate protection for personal data, enabling personal to freely flow from the EU (and EEA) to the UK. Background European privacy law (specifically articles 44-50 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)) prohibits the export of personal data from the EU to a third …

Read more

Using the new EU standard clauses to enable cross-border data export

From 27 June 2021, organisations will be able to adopt new ‘standard contractual clauses’ (SCCs) to permit lawful export of personal data from the EU to ‘third countries’. This post: recommends what companies should do now describes the background to the EU’s data export rules explains how the new SCCs differ from prior versions What …

Read more

EU and UK set out digital plans for coming decade

The European Commission has proposed a ‘digital compass’ to set its course for a digitally empowered Europe by 2030. The UK’s Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) has also set out its top ten priorities for a technology driven future to ‘build back better’ following the Covid19 pandemic. European Digital Compass At a press …

Read more

Data export: EU provides more clarity after Schrems II

In documents published last week, the EU provided some welcome clarity on how organisations should address the invalidation of Privacy Shield as a basis for exporting personal data from the EU. On 10 November 2020, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted recommendations on ‘supplemental measures’, which can be considered to ensure compliance with the …

Read more

EDPB guidance on ‘supplemental measures’ for data export

On 10 November, the European Data Protection Board adopted a recommendation on supplemental measures which might be used to ensure compliance with the EU level of protection of personal data when exported to third countries with an insufficient level of protection. The recommendation both sets out a process to be followed by data exporters and, …

Read more

Prospect of increased regulation in UK for digital giants

The Competition and Markets Authority, the UK Competition regulator, has said it will act against Facebook and Google if the government doesn’t set up a digital regulator within a year. According to the Financial Times, Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the CMA, said: ‘Plan A is to have a regulatory framework. If [within a year] …

Read more

European Data Protection Board releases updated controller / processor guidance for comment

Are you sure you are a data processor? Introduction On 7 September 2020, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), successor to the ‘article 29 working party’, released updated guidance on the concepts of ‘data controller’ and ‘data processor’ under European Privacy law (i.e. General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR). Whilst this has already been subject …

Read more

Europe proposes lower voice termination rates

On 25 August 2020, the European Commission proposed a regulation to set Europe-wide (lower) voice termination rates of 0.2 euro cents per minute for mobile voice and 0.07 euro cents per minute for fixed voice. The introduction of these new termination rate ceilings are subject to: a three year ‘glide path’ (to 1 Jan 2024) …

Read more

EU and US start work on enhanced Privacy Shield: Mr Schrems to be persuaded…

On 10 August 2020, Following the European Court’s Schrems II judgment invalidating the US Privacy Shield (and calling into question the legal basis for other transatlantic data transfers), the EU Commission and US Department of commerce issued a short, joint statement: “The U.S. Department of Commerce and the European Commission have initiated discussions to evaluate …

Read more