Data Protection Update - October 2017

Welcome to the October 2017 edition of our Data Protection update, our monthly bulletin on key developments in data protection law. As always, please do let us know if you have any feedback or suggestions for future editions.

Data protection

Data Protection Bill second reading takes place in House of Lords

Following the release of the Government's statement of intent (as reported in our August bulletin here) and the publication of the Data Protection Bill (the DP Bill) (as reported in our September bulletin here), the second reading of the DP Bill took place in the House of Lords on 10 October 2017.

The key points in the DP Bill that were discussed included data protection reform, the processing of personal data for security and law enforcement purposes and minimum requirements for companies' age verification systems. Members of the House of Lords also raised issues relating to European Union (EU) withdrawal legislation and the flow of data between the EU and the UK post-Brexit.

The next stage of the DP Bill's progress through Parliament will be the committee stage; this will be the first chance for amendments to be made to the DP Bill, and is due to start on 30 October 2017.

To follow the progress of the DP Bill, please click here.

To read the ICO's briefing published ahead of the second reading, please click here.

European Commission has approved the EU-US Privacy Shield following the first annual review of the framework

On 18 October 2017, the European Commission (Commission) published its report following the annual review of the EU-US Privacy Shield which, as a reminder, is the framework for transatlantic exchanges of personal data for commercial purposes between the European Union and the United States (US).

The report confirms that the Privacy Shield continues to ensure an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred from the EU to participating companies in the US, who have implemented the necessary structures and procedures to ensure the correct functioning of the Privacy Shield.

The report also includes a number of recommendations for further implementation to strengthen the functioning of the Privacy Shield, including strengthening awareness-raising efforts to inform EU individuals about how to exercise their rights under the Privacy Shield, particularly in relation to complaint.

The Commission has sent its report and recommendations to the European Parliament and Council, the Article 29 Working Party and the relevant US authorities.

To access the report, please click here.

General Data Protection Regulation hotline to open from 1 November

The ICO has announced that it is launching a dedicated telephone service aimed at helping small businesses prepare for new data...