EU Reaches Political Agreement on Cyber Resilience Act for Digital and Connected Products
On 30 November 2023, the EU reached political agreement on the Cyber Resilience Act (“CRA”), the first legislation globally to regulate cybersecurity for digital and connected products that are designed, developed, produced and made available on the EU market. The CRA was originally proposed by the European Commission in September 2022. Alongside the recently adopted Data Act, Digital Operational Resilience Act (“DORA”), Critical Entities Resilience Act (“CER”), Network and Information Systems Security 2 Directive (“NISD2”) and Data Governance Act, the CRA builds on the EU Data and Cyber Strategies, and complements upcoming certification schemes, such as the EU Cloud Services Scheme (“EUCS”) and the EU ICT Products Scheme (“EUCC”). It responds to an increase in cyber-attacks in the EU over the last few years – in particular the rise in software supply chain attacks which have tripled over the last year –as well as the significant rise in digital and connected products in daily life which magnifies the risk of such attacks.
EU Reaches Historical Agreement on AI Act
On 8 December 2023 — following three days of lengthy and intensive negotiations — EU legislators reached political agreement on the world’s first stand-alone law regulating AI: the EU’s AI Act. The EU considers the AI Act as one of its key pieces of legislation and fundamental to ensuring the EU becomes the world’s leading digital economy.
Agreement Reached on the EU’s Data Act
On 27 November 2023, the Council adopted the final text of the Data Act which facilitates (and in certain cases, mandates) the access to (personal and non-personal) data. The Data Act was originally proposed by the European Commission in 2022. Alongside the EU Data Governance Act (which came into force in June 2022) the Data Act forms part of the EU’s Data Strategy which aims to “make the EU a leader in a data-driven society”. (more…)
Insights from the IAPP Europe Data Protection Congress: Regulatory Convergence on AI and Sidley’s Women in Privacy Networking Lunch
The International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) held its annual Europe Data Protection Congress in Brussels on November 15 & 16, 2023. Whilst the Congress covered a wide range of topics related to privacy, cybersecurity and the regulation of data more broadly, unsurprisingly a recurring theme throughout was the responsible development, commercialization and use of AI. In this regard panelists explored (amongst other things) what practical and effective AI governance may look like, the role of a Digital Ethics Officer, how to strike a balance between enabling innovation and safeguarding individual rights, and how AI may be used to automate data breach detection and response.
UK Information Commissioner’s Office Publishes Toolkit for Data Sharing with Law Enforcement
The Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) has introduced a toolkit on data sharing with law enforcement (“Toolkit”) which supplements the ICO’s existing guidance on sharing personal data with law enforcement authorities. The Toolkit is intended to function as a tool for smaller organisations to make an informed decision about whether to share personal data with law enforcement. Larger organisations with expertise in data protection are encouraged to refer to the ICO’s data sharing code of practice but in any event, the Toolkit is intended to help provide clarity for all organisations in making decisions relating to this type of sharing.
