By John Magee & Eilís McDonald

As 2019 drew to a close, it was a busy time for the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC). With the traditional end of year rush, as well as a significant amount of focus in data protection circles on the Advocate General’s opinion in the Schrems II case,  privacy professionals could be forgiven for missing out on three new publications issued by the DPC during December alone.

By Patrick Van Eecke, Andrew Dyson & Anne-Gabrielle Haie

On 19 December, the Advocate General issued his opinion in the Schrems 2.0 case concerning the validity of two key data transfer mechanisms: Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) and Privacy Shield – mechanisms widely used by businesses within the European Economic Area (EEA) to legitimise the transfer of personal data to countries outside the EEA. In a 97 pages long analysis, the Advocate General developed several arguments. We read the opinion for you and distilled the following 5 key takeaways for businesses.

Under the Law on Protection of Personal Data no. 6698 (“DPL”), there are certain obligations which are similar to those contained in the GDPR, and which are relatively easy to comply with. On the other hand, some DPL obligations will likely be foreign to data controllers in the EU and overseas. One such requirement is […]

On 14th November, the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) published an update to its guidance on the processing of special category data (“Guidance”). Background The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) recognises that some types of personal data are more sensitive than others, and as such merit extra protection under the law. By way of reminder, special […]

China’s authorities have launched a crackdown against non-compliant mobile apps. The crackdown is taking place during November and December 2019, so businesses operating apps in China must take urgent action or else face sanctions. This campaign targets not only businesses operating apps, but also apps distributors and app stores. The authorities are adopting a three-stage […]