The Finalization of the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework
On July 10, 2023, the European Commission published its final Adequacy Decision for EU-U.S. data transfers. The draft decision reflects the multi-year coordination between the EU and U.S. to identify and implement a lasting solution to facilitate international data transfers following the Court of Justice of the European Union’s judgment in Schrems II. The EU’s adequacy decision determines that the U.S., through the newly created EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, provides comparable safeguards to those of the EU and ensures an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred from the EU to certified organizations in the U.S.
Hong Kong New PCPD Guidance on Handling Data Breaches
On June 30, 2023, Hong Kong’s data protection authority (the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, or PCPD) issued an updated version of its Guidance on Data Breach Handling and Data Breach Notifications (the Guidance, accessible here), which aims to guide companies on how they respond to data breaches. In particular, the Guidance contains a new recommendation for companies to adopt written data breach response plans.
Australian Government Commences Public Consultation on National Regulatory Framework for the “Safe and Responsible” Use of AI
On 1 June 2023, the Australian Government published the Safe and Responsible AI in Australia: Discussion Paper (“Discussion Paper”) to seek public feedback on identifying the potential gaps in the existing domestic governance landscape and possible additional AI governance mechanisms to support the “safe and responsible” development of AI. As noted in the Discussion Paper, although AI has been identified as a “critical technology in Australia’s national interest”, AI adoption rates across Australia remain relatively low. A key aim of the Discussion Paper is to inform the Australian Government on the steps that should be taken on AI regulation in order to increase “community trust and confidence in AI”. The Discussion Paper addresses a broad range of AI technologies and techniques, such as self-driving cars and generative pre-trained transformers (also known as GPT), and notes that any AI regulatory framework would need to consider existing as well as possible future uses of AI and any ensuing risks. The Discussion Paper has an eight (8) week consultation period ending on 26 July 2023.
