European General Court Judgment in Google Shopping: Key Takeaways
On November 10, 2021, the European General Court (Court) issued its judgment in Case T-612/17 Google and Alphabet v Commission (Google Shopping).
The Court dismissed almost in its entirety the action brought by Google and Alphabet against the decision by the European Commission (Commission) of June 27, 2017, which found that Google had abused its dominant market position by favoring its own comparison shopping service (CSS) on its general results pages while demoting the results from competing CSSs. The Court also upheld the fine of €2.42 billion imposed on Google by the Commission. The judgment can be appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). (more…)
Data: A New Direction or Misdirection? ICO Responds to UK Government Consultation on Its Proposed New Data Protection Regime
On 7 October 2021, the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”), published its response to the UK government’s consultation entitled “Data: A new direction”. The consultation which sets out the proposals of the Department for Digital, Culture Media & Sport (“DCMS”) promised far-reaching reforms to the UK data protection regime with an emphasis on capturing the power of data to drive economic growth and innovation. The DCMS’s proposals posed a significant moment for UK data protection law and as such Sidley was pleased to host a Chatham House Rule discussion about this important consultation on 15 September 2021 with Joe Jones, Deputy Director, International Data Transfers at the DCMS. We hope that interested readers may have attended our discussion with Deputy Director Jones. (more…)
Sidley Privacy and Cybersecurity Roundtable
Please join Sidley’s Privacy and Cybersecurity Group for a two-part discussion with UK government officials with a focus on data transfer and innovation.
UK Data Protection and Data Transfers – New Directions
In this Chatham House discussion, our panelists will cover:
- Data Transfers to the U.S. and Developments on “Adequacy”
- G7 and OECD Data Protection Initiatives
- UK Regulation of Data and Promotion of Innovation
European Commission Adopts UK Adequacy Decisions Allowing Personal Data to Freely Flow from the EU to the UK
On 28 June 2021, the European Commission announced that it has adopted two adequacy decisions for the UK, one under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and one under the Data Protection Directive with Respect to Law Enforcement (Law Enforcement Directive) (Adequacy Decisions). The announcement comes just two days before the bridging period for data transfers between the EU and the UK was set to expire. In its assessment, the European Commission has determined the UK’s data protection laws are “essentially equivalent” to the data protection laws ensured within the EU. As a result of the Adequacy Decisions, personal data can continue to freely flow between the EU to the UK without the need for a data transfer safeguard (e.g., Standard Contractual Clauses or SCCs) in place. This announcement comes as very welcome news to many organisations transferring data between the EU and the UK.
Long-Awaited Online Safety Bill is Introduced by the UK Government to Combat “Harmful” Online Content
Two years after the UK Government first put forward its intention to introduce a new regime to address illegal and harmful content online, the UK Government published the Online Safety Bill (“Bill”) on 12 May 2021. The Bill imposes duties of care on providers of digital services, social media platforms and other online services to make them responsible for content generated and shared by their users and to mitigate the risk of harm arising from illegal content (e.g., by minimising the spread of such content). The Bill also aims to ensure that users are able to express themselves freely online and requires platforms to consider the importance of freedom of expression when fulfilling their duties.
European Data Protection Board Issues Final Schrems II Recommendations
The European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”), adopted on 18 June 2021 its final recommendations describing how controllers and processors transferring personal data outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”) may comply with the Schrems II ruling (“Final Schrems II Recommendations”). The Final Schrems II Recommendations, together with the new Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCCs”) adopted by the European Commission on 4 June 2021, will now allow organizations to proceed with addressing international data transfers following the landmark Schrems II ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union in July 2020.
The Final Schrems II Recommendations have maintained the requirement to carry out a 6 Step assessment prior to transferring personal data outside the EEA in reliance on a data transfer tool, such as SCCs. However, there have been some important amendments from the draft recommendations published in November 2020 in order to:
- better align with the new SCCs recently adopted by the European Commission; and
- allow more flexibility in carrying out the assessment of third country laws in Step 3 by being able to take into account practice in the third country as well as the documented practical experience of the data importer.
Our previous blog post on the draft EDPB’s Schrems II recommendationsv provides further details on the 6 Step process that organizations should follow when transferring personal data from the EEA to a third country such as the U.S. Here we summarise some of the key differences in the 6 Steps as between the draft recommendations and the Final Schrems II Recommendations.
Schrems II Fallout Continued: Finalised EDPB Recommendations Released
After months of anticipation, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has released its finalised recommendations (Recommendations) on how to carry out the required assessment of international data transfers post-Schrems II. In what is considered to be one of the most important documents for the future of data transfers, this development marks a turning point for international entities.
Continuing its series of webinars on the fallout since Schrems II, Sidley and OneTrust DataGuidance are hosting a panel discussion to provide insight on the EDPB’s Recommendations, how they differ from the draft version, and how entities can approach international data flows. (more…)
European Commission Publishes Details of its Forthcoming Data Act
The European Commission has formally launched its legislative initiative aimed at increasing access to and further use of data, so that more public and private actors can benefit from technologies such as Big Data and machine learning. The Commission has published its inception impact assessment on the forthcoming Data Act, on which interested stakeholders can submit comments until 25 June 2021. In parallel, the Commission has launched a public consultation for the legislative initiative, to be conducted by an online questionnaire, with a deadline of 3 September 2021. Feedback will be taken into account for further development and fine tuning of the initiative to be tabled in Q3-Q4 2021.
European Commission Adopts New Standard Contractual Clauses
The European Commission (EC) on June 4, 2021 adopted a new set of Standard Contractual Clauses for international data transfers (New SCCs). The New SCCs take into account the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU) decision in Schrems II, requirements under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and according to the EC “address the realities faced by modern business”. In particular, as it relates to companies ongoing Schrems II assessments the New SCCs provide details around the steps an importer should take when subject to a request for disclosure from a public authority, and helpfully confirm that in carrying out the assessment of a third country legal framework the factors which can be taken into consideration.