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

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UK Government Publishes UK Approach to International Transfers, Including Data Adequacy

On August 26, 2021, the UK Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) published its mission statement setting out the UK approach to adequacy assessments and international data transfers, alongside a Manual Template and Manual Guidance for undertaking adequacy assessments and an infographic map illustrating ten priority countries forming part of that process. This release forms part of a broader package of measures announced by DCMS to “seize the opportunities of data to boost growth, trade and improve its public services” following the UK’s exit from the EU, which included an announcement that John Edwards (the current New Zealand Privacy Commissioner) is the Government’s preferred nominee to be the next UK Information Commissioner. (more…)

UK ICO Opens Consultation on Data Transfer Agreements and Guidance

On 11 August 2021, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) launched a public consultation on its draft international data transfer agreement and guidance (Consultation). The Consultation comes two months after the European Commission’s adoption of new EU Standard Contractual Clauses (EU SCCs) and the European Data Protection Board’s publication of the final Schrems II guidance. The EU SCCs do not automatically apply in the UK since its exit from the EU. Moreover, the ICO has not yet formally acknowledged the EU SCCs, i.e., as a valid data transfer mechanism under the UK GDPR.

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NHS’ Plans to Share Patient Records with Third Parties

NHS Digital (the national custodian for health and care data in England) in May 2021, announced a new data sharing initiative called the General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR) service. The launch of the GPDPR could result in the historical medical records of up to 55 million patients in England being shared with third parties.

Although the GP data collection was set to take place as of  July 1, 2021, on June 8, 2021 it was announced that the launch will be postponed to September 1, 2021.

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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.

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UK Moves to Reconcile Antitrust and Data Protection Enforcement in Digital Sectors

Last year, to address the increasing overlaps between data protection and antitrust enforcement, the UK launched the Digital Regulatory Cooperation Forum (DRCF). The DRCF brings together the four UK regulators most involved in digital matters (i.e., the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the Office of Communications (Ofcom) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)). Its main objective is to enable coherent and informed regulation of the UK digital economy.

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SCCs, Adequacy, and Guidance: Latest Updates on International Data Transfers

The next few weeks will likely be very busy for companies on the GDPR international data transfer front as there have been a number of key European developments over the last few days including: (more…)

Transferring EU Data To US After New Contractual Safeguards – A Proposal to Notify Intelligence Agencies of “US Person” Prohibition on Targeting SCC Transfers

This article was first published by Law360 on May 17, 2021.

In light of new standard contractual clauses, or SCCs, to be issued shortly by the European Commission, as well as imminent new guidance from the European Data Protection Board, companies transferring personal data to the U.S. should consider taking steps to help ensure their data transfers are recognized as U.S. person communications.

This article sets forth possible text that companies could adopt as a supplemental measure to inform U.S. intelligence agencies that data transfers under SCCs are prohibited from being targeted.

View Article

 

Alan Charles Raul

Washington, D.C., New York

araul@sidley.com

Using Data De-Identification to Protect Companies

Many companies hope to benefit from amassing large amounts of data by mining it for market insights, creating internal business models, and supporting strategic, data-driven decisions. But as companies collect and store increasingly enormous volumes of data, they may unknowingly take on significant legal risks, including potential violations of data privacy laws and increased exposure to U.S. litigation discovery obligations. One way that businesses can mitigate these risks is to de-identify the data they collect and store.

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Part II – Digital Health Passports in Europe: Amended Proposal for a Digital Green Certificate and Eligible Testing Methods

In March 2021, the European Commission released a proposal for the creation of a “Digital Green Certificate,” which will allow EU citizens to travel easier throughout the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, the EU Member States agreed on some proposed changes to the proposal, including strengthening of the data privacy provisions. According to the proposal, in order to obtain a Digital Green Certificate, individuals must prove that they have been vaccinated, present a negative test result, or have recently recovered from COVID-19. The proposal allows the issuance of a certificate for all COVID-19 vaccines, which have received an EU-wide marketing authorisation, however only the results of certain in vitro diagnostic tests will be considered valid.

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