European Commission’s Public Consultation on Proposed EU Artificial Intelligence Regulatory Framework
On 19 February 2020, the European Commission published a white paper on the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) in the EU (the “White Paper”). The White Paper forms part of the Commission President, Ursula Von der Leyen’s, digital strategy, one of the key pillars of her administration’s five year tenure, recognising that the EU has fallen behind the US and China with respect to the strategic deployment of AI. To tackle this problem, the Commission proposes a common EU approach to ‘speed up the uptake’ of AI in the EU, whilst also tackling the human and ethical implications of AI’s fast growing use in the EU, including the possible downsides of its use, such as opaque decision making and hidden, embedded gender and racial discrimination. In order to achieve a common EU approach to AI, and to create “trustworthy” AI that can rival developments in the US and China, the Commission proposes the creation of a regulatory framework for AI.
Clinical Trials in the EU: Ongoing Uncertainty Around Data Protection Compliance for Sponsors
Ongoing confusion about lawful basis for data processing in a clinical study environment: European Data Protection Board and European Commission on the one hand and certain Member States on the other differ on the correct approach. Swiss sponsors operating clinical studies in the EU face ongoing uncertainty around the appropriate lawful basis for processing study subject personal data in spite of guidance being published by the European Commission and the European Data Protection Board.
UK Supreme Court Rules Morrisons Not Vicariously Liable for Malicious Data Breach by Employee
Case: WM Morrison Supermarkets plc v Various Claimants [2020] UKSC 12
In a decision that employers will welcome, the UK Supreme Court recently ruled that Morrison Supermarkets (Morrisons) was not vicariously liable for a data breach committed maliciously by a former employee who, acting to satisfy a personal vendetta against Morrisons, disclosed employee payroll data online.
COVID-19: Dealing with Vendors – Privacy and Supply Chain Issues
The COVID-19 global pandemic presents unique legal and practical challenges for businesses across all industries, including with respect to ongoing relationships with vendors and suppliers – whether this relates to information security, privacy compliance, business continuity and contractual issues, such as in relation to force majeure.
In this webinar, we will highlight some of the key issues companies are facing when dealing with supply chain and vendor contracts, and how their concerns can be mitigated.
Chambers 2020 Global Practice Guides for Data Protection & Privacy and Cybersecurity Available
The updated 2020 Chambers Global Practice Guides for Data Protection & Privacy and Cybersecurity, edited by Alan Charles Raul, are available, covering important developments across the globe and bringing expert legal commentary for businesses. Read the intros to each Guide here and here.
European Data Protection Board Releases Statement on Personal Data and COVID-19
On 20 March 2020, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) released a statement on the protection of personal data in connection with measures that public authorities and business organizations (including employers) are taking to address the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This statement is an extension of the statement released by the EDPB chair on 16 March 2020, (which can be accessed here). In its latest statement, the EDPB emphasises that EU data protection law (in particular, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”)) does not stand in the way of measures adopted to fight against COVID-19 – if these measures are necessary, proportionate and consistent with safeguards required under EU Member State laws. The EDPB statement also provides useful guidance for organisations to consider when adopting measures to lawfully process personal data during this time.
Overall, while EDPB statement may provide some reassurance to organizations with respect to COVID-19 measures, organizations will be advised to consider guidance issued by specific EU Member State data protection authorities as well. In particular, specific EU Member State data protection authorities have begun issuing COVID-19 guidance that is, at least in certain respects divergent: while certain data protection authorities are adopting a more restrictive approach (for example, the French CNIL), others are more permissible (for example, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office).
ICO Issues Data Protection and Coronavirus Guidance
In light of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the ICO has today issued guidance on “Data protection and coronavirus: what you need to know” for data controllers. The ICO has also published advice for healthcare practitioners. Guidance has also been issued by many other Data Protection Authorities in other European countries. (more…)
CJEU Considers the Use of CCTV and Legitimate Interests
With the use of CCTV on the rise, it has become increasingly important for controllers to find a framework in which the conflicting rights of those who are subject to such surveillance are balanced. In its recent decision of TK v Asociaţia de Proprietari bloc M5A-ScaraA EU:C:2019:1064 (TK), the CJEU considered whether the processing carried out by CCTV cameras was necessary and proportionate for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by the controller.
French CNIL Publishes Draft Guidance on Cookie Consent
On January 14, 2020, the French data protection authority, the CNIL, proposed a consultation on its draft recommendations on practical ways to collect website user consent for cookies and similar technologies (the “Recommendations”). The Recommendations follow the publication in July 2019 of updated guidance on cookies, including requirements for obtaining GDPR-standard consent, by various European data protection authorities, including the CNIL and the ICO (the latter guidance was reported by Data Matters here). The CNIL has since undertaken a consultation to develop practical methods to obtain user consent.
New Guidance Published Addressing Scientific Research and the GDPR
A recent opinion from the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) on data protection and scientific research builds on an opinion from January 2019 from the European Data Protection Board on the GDPR and clinical trials. The Opinion from the EDPS should be taken into account by life sciences companies in their ongoing assessment of how to apply the GDPR to scientific research both in clinical trials and more broadly.
The EDPS – an independent supervisory authority whose primary objective is to ensure that European institutions and bodies respect the right to privacy and data protection – recently published a preliminary opinion on data protection and scientific research (the Opinion). The EDPS acknowledges the critical importance of scientific research but states that “data protection obligations should not be misappropriated as a means […] to escape transparency and accountability.” In particular, according to the EDPS, compliance with data protection laws is “wholly compatible” with responsible scientific research. However, the EDPS recommends intensifying dialogue between data protection authorities (DPAs) and ethical review boards for a common understanding of which activities amount to genuine research and expects further guidance to be published by the European Data Protection Board – an independent European body, composed of representatives of the national DPAs and the EDPS.