On the same day that the European Commission debuted the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, the Article 29 Working Party (WP29) issued a statement welcoming the publication of the draft “adequacy decision” of the European Commission as well as the legal texts that constitute the Privacy Shield arrangement. In accordance with its mission, WP29 said that it would […]
EU Data Protection
Article 29 Working Party announces its 2016 Action Plan for GDPR Preparedness
During a press conference held on February 3, 2016, the President of the Article 29 Working Party (“Working Party”) discussed the Working Party’s 2016 action plan concerning the new General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The action plan lays out the groundwork required to prepare the DPAs for their new role under the GDPR and to […]
Germany’s Christmas Present: Data-Protection Class Actions
Following the European Court of Justice’s Schrems decision invalidating the Safe Harbor mechanism, much attention has focused on how the Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) of EU member states would interpret and enforce Schrems. While close attention to DPA activity is important—and will become even more so upon the passage of the EU General Data Protection […]
The EU General Data Protection Regulation – Europe Adopts Single Set of Privacy Rules
On December 15, 2015, following four years of close, sometimes contentious, review, the EU institutions agreed upon the text of the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”). One of the most important EU legislative initiatives in recent years, the GDPR is also a landmark in privacy regulation worldwide. As from the time the GDPR takes […]
Updated Schrems ECJ / Safe Harbor Ruling FAQs
Alston & Bird has published an updated set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the decision by the European Court of Justice holding that the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework is invalid (also known as the Schrems decision). The FAQs are designed to help companies that rely on the Safe Harbor Framework understand the scope of the ECJ […]