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The European Commission has published plans for new legislation to safeguard the privacy of an individual when using electronic communications. The Commission wants to update the current rules to take new technology into consideration. The main changes are:

• Extending eprivacy to new providers of electronic communications (eg Whatsapp, Messenger, FaceBook etc).
• Changing the rules on cookies so that users are not bombarded with pop ups asking for consent.
• Tighter rules on electronic marketing (such as making marketing companies identify themselves using prefixes).

The proposals also state that the Commission intends to be more pro-active in negotiating with other countries to reach “adequacy decisions” which allows the free flow of personal data to that country. They also want to see more use of the other tools in place to allow international data transfers.

The Commission wants to see this legislation in place by the time the General Data Protection Regulations come into force in May 2018. This means that the changes could potentially affect the UK before it leaves the EU. In any event, it is highly likely that the UK will implement this legislation post Brexit if it wishes to continue to trade with EU countries.

The statement from the Commission can be found here.

If […]

The issue of is whether the ‘traditional’ employee model is sustainable is a hot topic. What is clear is that the world of work is changing. Many individuals sell goods online via outlets like Ebay, offer taxi services through Uber and accommodate tourists in their spare room via Airbnb. This is referred to as the so-called “gig economy”, where incomes are earned or supplemented by trading individual goods and services online.

The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee has launched an inquiry into the future world of work. Its inquiry will not only focus on the rapidly changing nature of work and those working in the gig economy, but will also look at the status and rights of agency workers and the self-employed. It will consider the definition of “worker”, and whether this is clear enough, the balance of benefits between workers and employers, flexible contracts, zero-hour contracts, the role of the Low Pay Commission, minimum wage enforcement and the role of trade unions in providing representation. It will explore whether the balance of benefits between workers and employers is right for those casual and agency workers working in the gig economy, and whether further protection and support should be provided for agency workers […]

We have previously blogged on the Privacy Shield and the changes to international data transfers. We now have guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office on what an organisation needs to do when undertaking personal data transfers to countries outside of the EU and where that country has not been declared to provide adequate protection by the EU.  The ICO confirms that the Privacy Shield has been declared to provide adequate protection for international transfer by the European Commission and also that organisations can still rely on the model contractual clauses and binding corporate rules.  However, the guidance does state that there are ongoing court cases which may impact on the Privacy Shield and also the Article 29 Working Party who scrutinize EU data protection laws have stated that they will review the Privacy Shield in a year’s time.  So there still may be more changes to come. We will keep you updated and the ICO has promised further guidance before the end of the year.

The ICO guidance is available here.

If you would like advice on how your organisation can start preparing for the new data protection legislation, please contact Tracey Wakelam at traceywakelam@www.probertlegal.com. Exeter solicitors covering Devon, Cornwall and the […]

This week we have had confirmation from Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) and from the Information Commissioner that whatever path the UK takes in order to implement BREXIT, the requirements of the GDPR will have to be complied with by UK businesses wanting to transfer personal data to and from the EU.  The speech of Baroness Neville-Rolfe can be found here and the blog article from the ICO is here.

We have produced a video on the main points for UK business and can offer advice and guidance on implementation of its requirements.

If you would like advice on how your organisation can start preparing for the new data protection legislation, please contact Tracey Wakelam at traceywakelam@www.probertlegal.com. Exeter solicitors covering Devon, Cornwall and the rest of the UK.

Nearly lost in all the drama of the last week or so, we seem to finally have a glimmer of hope on the data protection front. It appears that the US government and EU have agreed modifications to the original text of the Privacy Shield and have indicated that a full settlement of the issue could be reached as early as July. The Privacy Shield is the mechanism that the European Commission and US government have designed to allow the transfers of personal data between the EU and the US and replaces the Safe Harbor scheme which was declared invalid by Europe’s highest court. Whilst we do not know the exact details of the amendments, we have been led to believe that the Privacy Shield covers all EU countries plus the EEA countries (Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland). There is uncertainty as to whether Brexit will lead to the UK becoming an EEA member or not. If so then we should be covered by the Privacy Shield, if not then the UK will have to negotiate its own deal with the US (and, of course, many other countries).

There is still ongoing litigation in the Irish courts related to this issue and in a very […]