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Finally, after many months, the European Commission has released the new set of the Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCCs”). The SCCs, if you have not heard of them, are a legal tool for allowing an international transfer of data to and from outside the “EEA+” (European Economic Area and countries that have received an adequacy decision)...
Last week the European Commission and the Personal Information Protection Commission of South Korea concluded the last round of talks about the possibility of the European Union granting an adequacy decision to South Korea and the outcome was positive. The Commission noted the positive convergence of South Korea, which had recently adopted a new data protection law (Personal Information Protection Act), and thus decided to allow an adequacy decision.
Video cameras have always been a sensitive matter. Many important cases related to privacy and data protection involved them for obvious reasons: they are ubiquitous, be them visible or hidden, in public or private places. Recently, the topic has again been brought to light thanks to the driving-monitoring cameras incorporated in cars.
Cookies are a small piece of text installed by a server into one’s machine. The server can also be different from that visited (so-called third party cookies) for example, like how advertisements work – one can be on a different website and yet receive advertisements from a website visited previously. The cookies allow various features including authentication, shopping basket or personalisation of a website.
The European Commission has recently released its draft for the UK adequacy decision. If adopted, the adequacy decision would allow the data flow to and from the United Kingdom to continue as normal. However, in case it is not adopted, the problem could be insurmountable: if the European Commission acknowledges that the laws regulating lawful interception in UK, such as the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, are interfering with the rights and freedoms of data subjects, the issue cannot be overcome by enhanced standard contractual clauses or integrating additional safeguards.
The European Commission (the “EC”) has tried to regulate e-commerce and the related challenges offered by internet giants “GAFAM” - acronym for Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft, the biggest internet based corporations, from time to time also Netflix and/or Twitter is added – and last winter a significant step has been undertaken.
In our increasingly digital world, data determines our lives, at all times and everywhere. Individuals therefore have a strong interest in knowing that the protection of their data is respected and ensured. Particularly banks, which can look back on a long tradition of discretion and confidentiality, are aware that detailed information about a person’s financial situation is among the most sensitive data that can be disclosed.
After a 4-year impasse, the European Council has now approved the draft of the e-Privacy Regulation. This allows the negotiation with the European Parliament to start. The regulation is part of the European data protection framework and it is a sectorial law for telecommunications. But it would be wrong to assume that it applies only to WhatsApp, Zoom or Skype.
California has recently voted through the Proposition 24, or California Privacy Right Act, which shall enter into force in 2023 and it is one of first acts in America to be substantially similar to GDPR (the California Consumer Privacy Act had a limited scope).
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The new Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (“nFADP”) was adopted by the Parliament on 25 September 2020. The deadline for calling a referendum has now expired, unused, on 14 January 2021. The next step is now for the Swiss Federal Council to adopt the relevant ordinances, which should bring welcome clarifications to notions and requirements set in the nFADP. The ordinances are expected to be published in the first semester of 2021; an entry into force of the nFADP (and the ordinances) before June 2022 or even January 2023 seems, however, unlikely.
The internet is something which we cannot live without today and website browsing has become an inherent activity in our everyday lives. We are increasingly being bombarded with information, mainly in the form of adverts, which to most of our surprise contain information about services and products of companies which we then realise we would have recently looked up on the internet.
Technology is evolving at an incredible pace. An ordinary smartphone has thousands of time the power of calculation of the computer that allowed the Apollo 11 to land on the moon. We are living the edge of a new era and, among other things, like quantum computer and gene editing, the Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) is going to have an enormous impact on everyday life.
The Gaming Act established the Malta Gaming Authority (the “Authority”) to act as the main regulatory entity for the gaming industry in Malta. The Authority is responsible for granting licences relating to gaming and for monitoring licenced gaming as well as for collecting gaming taxes on behalf of the government.
Online sales have expanded drastically over the last decade. In Switzerland, it is estimated that 90% of regular internet users have shopped online at least once. In light of this societal evolution, governments and legislators have needed to adapt and legislate. The European Union has adopted specific legislation, whereas the Swiss legal framework applicable to online trade is contained across a number of different, existing acts.
The General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”), has been approved by the European Parliament on 14 April 2016 and entered into force on the 25 May 2018. The GDPR replaced Directive 95/46 EC on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data. The GDPR has been implemented by the European Parliament to make Europe more fit for the digital age, and protect private data across and beyond European borders. The GDPR subjects data retainers to limitations in relation to private data of individuals.
The GDPR created a framework for compliance which is applicable in all industries and to facilitate the legal and fair free movement of data across the European Union (the “EU”). The GDPR offers protection to individuals against abuse and misuse of their personal data while also empowers individuals and gives them the required tools to safeguard their rights. The GDPR has crystallised rights so that adequate protection with regards to the collection and distribution of data is protected.
The purpose of the GDPR is to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe, protect and empower all EU citizens data privacy and reshape the way organisations across the region approach data privacy. Personal data is flowing throughout the world and hence it can be regarded as a valuable asset which need to be safeguarded.
The nature of data protection measures inherently requires that when data is being moved from one state to another, each jurisdiction must have equivalent protections and sanctions. Switzerland and the European Union have similar protections in place to protect and define the limits of data protection.
