European Commission Publishes Draft UK Adequacy Decisions
On February 19, 2021, the European Commission (EC) published two draft implementing decisions to enable the continuing free-flow of personal data from the EU to the UK (the Draft Adequacy Decisions) i.e., post-Brexit: (i) for transfers of personal data under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR); and (ii) for transfers of personal data under the Law Enforcement Directive (LED). This will come as a huge relief to companies across all industries who are in parallel already grappling with the repercussions of Schrems II. In fact, the Draft Adequacy Decisions (which collectively run to almost 140 pages) are the first of their kind in a post-Schrems II world and will likely be closely reviewed—including by privacy advocate Max Schrems who has promised his Twitter followers to “take a look at” the Draft Adequacy Decisions in particular with regard to the LED (i.e., which addresses UK government surveillance activities).
