UPDATE: The Survey Report is now available here.On the heels of the EU Parliament’s formal adoption of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on April 14, 2016, Baker &McKenzie will be publishing the results of its 2016 EU GDPR and EU-US Privacy Shield Survey next week! Until then, subscribe for the b:INFORM newsletter to get updates and articles sent straight to your inbox.Our survey report captures the views and expectations of over 100 privacy…
16 – 20 May 2016Sandton, JohannesburgIn 2015, we held our inaugural High Growth Markets Compliance Summit in Johannesburg. This event received such positive feedback from attendees that we felt strongly that the event should be repeated on an annual basis and broadened out so that we can go into much more detail on particular hot topics. Thus, the idea of the High Growth Markets Compliance Week was born. We have designed this week to bring…
After years of consulting, drafting, debating and lobbying, the EU Parliament (in second reading) voted on and adopted the GDPR in its plenary session on 14 April 2016. Click here for the official press release and here for the final text of the GDPR. As the next step, the GDPR text will be published in the Official Journal of the EU and will enter into force twenty days after such publication.Organisations will be required to comply…
On 6 April 2016, following a review by legal/linguistic experts, the consolidated version of the GDPR text has been published in all official European languages. Further, Council adopted its position on the text on 8 April which paves the way for the EU Parliament to vote on the text next week.The revised textCompared to the version of the GDPR text issued on 17 December 2015, the updated text contains new numbering as well as linguistic…
Part of the b:INFORM 2015/2016 Cloud Survey Trend SeriesCloud Survey – Tax Perspective Outsourcing to the Cloud for Financial Institutions Fast Moving Fronts: 3 Things You Need to Know About How Better, Faster, Cheaper is Impacting Your Enterprise’s Use of the CloudGlobal Enterprises and the Cloud Integration of Bundled Cloud Offerings The Importance of Security in the Cloud: Security and AuditFollowing up on the 2014 Baker & McKenzie Cloud Survey, we took the feedback from…
On February 29, 2016, the European Commission published a draft adequacy decision and related documents intended to implement the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield. Upon adoption (anticipated for June 2016), the Privacy Shield will serve as a new legal mechanism for transatlantic data flows replacing the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework. We have provided a brief review below, and a more detailed analysis is available here.Self-Certification ProcessLike Safe Harbor, the Privacy Shield will function through a self-certification process…
Companies established in the European Union that offer goods or services online to consumers have to update their web and mobile site documentation to address new requirements pertaining to alternative dispute resolution. The new rules are fairly complex as they stem from an EU Regulation (which applies directly and immediately to companies in all EU Member States) and an EU Directive (which was supposed to have been implemented by July 9, 2015, but has not…
On 24 February 2016, an amendment to the German Act on Injunctive Relief came into force entitling eligible associations to bring cease and desist actions against companies for violations of certain data protection provisions. So far, in Germany, only affected individuals and data protection authorities (and in some very limited circumstances competitors and consumer associations) had standing to sue companies for data protection infringements. Large technology companies (including non-EU companies) targeting data subjects in Germany…
After months of intense negotiations, the European Commission and the US Government announced today an agreement on the EU-US Privacy Shield (see http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-216_en.htm). This new arrangement replaces the US-EU Safe Harbor Privacy Arrangement (“Safe Harbor”), which was struck down by the Court of Justice of the European Union on October 6, 2015. The EU-US Privacy Shield builds upon the original Safe Harbor, and establishes a range of additional protections for European personal data, particularly on…
So we have all fully digested 209 pages of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) text, and added it to our 2016 new year’s resolution, now what? While the EU Parliament and Council are expected to have their final vote on the GDPR in the first quarter of 2016, how should companies start preparing for GDPR compliance? Previously, we have identified the major GDPR game changers, and provided the essential elements organisations must consider when…