Two-sided control

What was promised by the GDPR (Art. 80 and Rec. 142) is now a reality! Following Schrems’ filing of 422 complaints to ten EU Data Protection Authorities yesterday for cookie-related violations, it is now clear that the data protection compliance posture of companies will be checked not only by Supervisory Authorities but also – de facto and actively – by privacy organisations and associations patrolling the internet to proactively find ...

Schrems II – No legal certainty and no quick fixes! It’s a geopolitical matter before it’s a legal one. “A NEW AGE OF DATA TRANSFERS” PART IV

I just attended today’s online LIBE meeting on possible solutions following the CJEU’s “Schrems II” decision, where it was recognized that the question of data transfers to third countries is fundamentally a geopolitical matter before being a legal one. In this way, legal certainty should be re-established as soon as possible – but such an achievement ...

UPDATE (II): “PUBLIC HEALTH AND PRIVACY” AND NOT “PUBLIC HEALTH OR PRIVACY”: A COLLECTION OF GUIDANCE ON COVID-19

In the evolving COVID-19 scenario in which business continuity also depends on adequate data protection and cybersecurity practices on the part of organizations, knowledge mapping of privacy & data protection guidance and cybersecurity best practices has taken on an even more important role. It’s for that very reason that, without the presumption of completeness, I ...

“PUBLIC HEALTH AND PRIVACY” AND NOT “PUBLIC HEALTH OR PRIVACY”: Surveillance in the fight against COVID-19

“Hopefully COVID-19 will be gone at some point, but tracking technologies may stay for longer and permanently hamper the rights and freedoms of individuals” As part of my blog series on #PublicHealthANDprivacy in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this short reflection will focus on digital surveillance. There is no doubt that data and technology have the ...

“Public health AND Privacy” and not “Public health OR Privacy”: A collection of Guidance on COVID-19

Below is an attempt (without the presumption of completeness) to map all the official resources providing guidance on the correct processing of personal data in the context of COVID-19 and Cybersecurity-related information on working remotely in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. I genuinely hope this will help in the effort of achieving "Public health AND Privacy"! Stay safe and ...

“Public Health AND Privacy” vs. “Public Health OR Privacy” in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak has touched the lives of millions of individuals across the globe. Among those severely affected are the residents of my native Italy who are currently under a mandatory lockdown  (nationwide travel restrictions have been enacted) until an undefined date.  But how should the collection of potentially special category personal data (health data) be managed in a pandemic? Several data protection authorities have provided ...

Dutch DPA investigates use of tracking cookies

The Dutch DPA carried out an audit of approximately 175 websites including those of web shops, municipalities, and  the media, in order to ascertain whether they comply with the requirements for the placing of tracking cookies. Almost half of the websites that use tracking cookies do not meet the consent requirements. The DPA found that “Virtually ...

EDPS announces investigation into European Parliament’s 2019 election activities and is taking enforcement actions

On 28 November 2019 the European Data Protection Supervisor announced that "it is carrying out an investigation into the European Parliament’s use of a US-based political campaigning company to process personal data as part of its activities relating to the 2019 EU parliamentary election." In its press release the EDPS stressed that "Election campaigns are ...

Brexit and data protection: What’s next?

On 12 December 2019 in the UK general election, Boris Johnson secured his position as UK Prime Minister, with his Conservative party winning its first substantial majority in decades. The results of the election have set the way for the UK to exit the European Union by its scheduled exit date of 31 January 2020.  The results ...

Italian DPA: Second semester inspection plan focuses on whistleblowing

The Italian Data Protection Supervisory Authority recently published the measure whereby it decided on the audit plan for this six-month period, citing one of the processing activities that could be inspected: “1. For the period from July to December 2019, the auditing activity initiated and carried out by the Data Protection Supervisory Authority, including through the Guardia di ...