On May 22, 2019, the European Data Protection Board (the “EDPB”) published on its website a summary of enforcement actions taken by the European Economic Area Supervisory Authorities (“EEA Supervisory Authorities”) one year after the entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”). Reflecting on the growing numbers of data controllers designating a lead supervisory authority, the EDPB reported that of the 446 cross-border cases opened by EEA Supervisory Authorities, 205 of these cases have led to One-Stop-Shop procedures. The EDPB indicated that 144,000 queries and complaints (the term has not yet been defined by the EDPB) and over 89,000 data breaches have been logged by EEA Supervisory Authorities. The majority of cases (63%) have now been closed and 37% remain ongoing. In addition, the EDPB indicated that the majority of EU citizens polled (67%) have at least heard of the GDPR and 36% of these EU citizens indicated that they are well aware of what the regulation entails. Finally, EEA Supervisory Authorities have reported that while the GDPR cooperation procedures are robust and efficient, they were time and resource intensive. The EDPB is now taking stock of this to build its upcoming working program for 2019 and 2020.
