The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) recently responded to questions submitted by the EU Commission seeking clarification on the consistent application of the GDPR to health research. The responses cover 21 questions and provide clarity on issues such as: the legal basis for processing health data; processing of special categories of data on a large scale; and further processing of previously collected health data. While it is clear that many questions remain unanswered, further responses…

The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has published its Annual Report for 2020. The Report looks back on the span of regulatory work completed by the DPC over the past year, and reveals some interesting trends and statistics. It discusses the complaints and breach notifications received; case-studies; the 83 domestic and cross-border inquiries it has open; and the fines, reprimands, and compliance orders it has issued for infringements of the GDPR and Law Enforcement Directive…

The EU Commission looks set to adopt two adequacy decisions in favour of the UK, which will allow businesses to continue to freely transfer personal data from the EU/EEA to the UK.  On 19 February 2021, the EU Commission published two draft adequacy decisions permitting transfers of personal data to the UK under the GDPR, and under the Law Enforcement Directive (LED). Once adopted, the decisions will replace the interim solution agreed under the EU-UK Trade…

On 10 February 2021, the EU Member States agreed on the EU Council’s negotiating mandate for the draft ePrivacy Regulation. The new Regulation will repeal and replace the existing ePrivacy Directive 2002/58/EC. The text approved by the EU Member States allows the EU Council to start negotiations with the European Parliament on the final text of the ePrivacy Regulation. Key Highlights The EU Council’s Press Release sets out the key highlights of the draft ePrivacy…

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has imposed a €70,000 fine on University College Dublin (UCD) for failure to implement appropriate security measures; storing data longer than necessary, and delaying in notifying the DPC of a data breach. This is the sixth GDPR fine imposed by the DPC.  Previous GDPR fines included 3 fines on Tusla (the Child and Family Agency) amounting to a total of €200,000; a €450,000 fine on Twitter, and a €65,000…