Since the joint announcement by US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von de Leyen, on 25 March 2022, of an agreement in principle on the long-awaited replacement to the EU-US Privacy Shield, transatlantic data flows have again become the focus of GDPR discussions. The lack of details provided to date has, however, resulted in many organisations (and legal commentators alike) wondering where this leaves them.
Should US organisations prepare for certification to yet another incarnation of the Safe Harbor (which will almost certainly be subject to prompt legal challenge in the form of Schrems III)? Should organisations subject to the GDPR continue with their transfer impact assessments and the uncertainty of the standard contractual clauses (“SCCs”) when transferring personal data to the US? Will the new safeguards have any impact on the SCCs at all? And how will this affect transfers to the US from the UK or other non-EU jurisdictions?
Representatives of the US Government and the European Commission recently provided some much-needed context, including further details around the timing of the replacement framework and of the potential shape of the new redress mechanism. Their comments offer some hints about the UK’s approach to transatlantic and other international data flows.Continue Reading Transatlantic Data Flows – Where Are We Now?
The FTC’s recent settlement with Flo Health, announced on June 22, 2021, offers insights into what practices could invite FTC investigation, especially when companies that collect sensitive information make specific promises about high levels of health privacy and data security. More than 100 million consumers use Flo, an app developed by Flo Health Inc., to help women track their periods and fertility. Although the settlement contains no admissions by Flo, the agency alleged that Flo shared users’ health information with outside data analytics providers; an arrangement that is not uncommon for apps that deal with less-sensitive data, but one which contradicted the company’s promise to keep users’ personal information private.
There were 887 million reasons why one GDPR story was dominating the press on Friday. But sneaking under the radar was a decision from the English High Court that I reckon should be more interesting to businesses in the UK.
What Is Tax-Related Identity Theft? 
In news that is likely to concern individuals and privacy activists alike, it has been reported that the NHS booking system for COVID-19 vaccinations has led to complaints that it could be used to reveal the vaccination status of individuals through the use of simple personal information.
In encouraging news for UK-based organizations involved in the processing of personal data, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has adopted two Opinions on the draft UK adequacy decisions which, if approved, would allow the transfer of personal data from the European Economic Area (EEA) to the UK to continue freely.
The UK Information Commissioner (ICO) has launched a new toolkit for organizations which are planning to use personal data for data analytics as part of the ICO’s priority work on artificial intelligence (AI).