Information Technology Law

The European Commission has recently suggested that there will be further strategic revisions to data protection, including a set of proposals that will revise the current EU Data Protection Directive. The key components of the new EU strategy appear to include, but may not be limited to:

1.  The establishment of EU-wide registration forms for databases;
2.  Specific new rules on privacy notices, including the promulgation of EU “standard form privacy information notices” and special rules with respect to minors;
3.  New rules that strengthen and clarify the concept of consent to the collection, use and transfer of data;
4.  A right to demand deletion of data no longer needed for the purpose for which it was collected;
5.  Allowing individuals to take his/her photos, medical records or a list of friends from an application or service and transfer them into another one;
6.  New rules on what constitutes “sensitive data”;
7.  New remedies for violations of privacy, including expanded criminal sanctions and empowering data protection authorities with the right to go to court;
8.  The establishment of security breach notification rules;
9.  Clarification on the legal rules that will attach to data stored in the cloud, regardless of the geographic location of the controller;
10. The possible introduction of an “accountability” principle to ensure compliance with data protection laws;
11. New rules that make the appointment of corporate Data Protection Officers mandatory; 
12. Improvements in current procedures for international data transfers, in order to ensure a more uniform and coherent EU approach vis-à-vis third countries and international organizations; 

Cumulatively, these proposed and broad-sweeping changes would amount to a dramatic shift with regard to data protection in the EU.

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