International Transfers of Personal Data after the Schrems II ruling
Thursday August 6th, 2020 by Vlad Nekrutenko
On July 16, 2020, the top court of the European Union (CJEU) issued a groundbreaking ruling on the so-called “Schrems II” case concerning international transfers of personal data from the European Union. It was meant to deal mostly with transfers to the main EU commercial partner – the United States – but turned out to […]
A Comparison of POPIA and GDPR in Key Areas
Tuesday July 28th, 2020 by Ella Russell
South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) will see its final sections go into effect on 30 June 2021. Furthermore, parties subject to POPIA must be fully compliant with the guidelines by 1 July 2021. A number of them may have a head start if they already adhere to established data protection guidelines such […]
HIPAA, the GDPR and MedTech
Thursday July 23rd, 2020 by Olga Tsareva
There are different regulations on how medical data can be processed and stored in different nations. If your company operates in the MedTech sector in the Western world most likely you have at least heard of HIPAA or the GDPR. This article aims at analysing how both legislations relate to healthcare. The article is particularly […]
Small meetings under the COVID-19 ordinance in Berlin
Wednesday March 18th, 2020 by Silvan Jongerius
Since March 14, 2020, the Berlin Senate has put emergency measures in place to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus. While in Berlin events and meetings are encouraged to be avoided all together, meetings or events, even personal ones with at most 50 persons may take place when a detailed attendee list is kept. […]
Response to the GDPR-relevant points in the German Blockchain Strategy of September 2019
Sunday September 29th, 2019 by Silvan Jongerius
On September 12, the German Federal Ministry of Economy and Energy, and the German Federal Ministry of Finance published the German Federal Blockchain Strategy (German, PDF). After analysing the statements relating to Data Protection and GDPR, here is some high level response to the key points. Blockchain Strategy Implementation Principles [p5] “IT-Sicherheit und Datenschutz […]
GDPR compliant products debunked: it’s all about HOW you use it
Thursday September 26th, 2019 by Silvan Jongerius
I’ve seen this a bit too often lately: products that qualify themselves as ‘GDPR compliant’, falsely leaving the impression that by using that product, an organisation will be GDPR compliant. In particular some blockchain products like to label themselves as ‘GDPR compliant blockchain’ – as in the public opinion there are massive problems surrounding blockchain […]
GDPR’s Right to be Forgotten in Blockchain: it’s not black and white.
Tuesday August 13th, 2019 by Silvan Jongerius
There have been many discussions about the big problem of the right to be forgotten (right to erasure, Article 17) under the GDPR. As blockchain generally is immutable, and the GDPR requires personal data to be deleted. Many people therefor conclude that it is impossible to store any kind of personal data on a blockchain. […]
What is the difference between personally identifiable information (PII) and personal data?
Thursday June 27th, 2019 by Malia Thuret-Benoist
When organisations seek to protect their user’s data, it is necessary that they understand the data they need to safeguard. Personal data, in the context of GDPR, covers a much wider range of information than personally identifiable information (PII), commonly used in North America. In other words, while all PII is considered personal data, not all […]
Personal data and cold calling under the GDPR
Tuesday June 25th, 2019 by Alex Carroll
A personal data focused analysis of what is wrong with cold calling someone. And how to make it right. Cold calling individuals is like throwing a rock in a pond with the hope of catching a fish. Obviously, the success rate is high enough to justify manning the phone with a single person all the […]
Blockchain & DLT under the GDPR explained to the European Commission
Tuesday June 4th, 2019 by Silvan Jongerius
Today, I had the opportunity to present the key issues of Blockchain & DLT under the GDPR to a delegation of the European Commission in Berlin. Below is a summarised version of the issues I presented. 1. Is the Opinion 05/2014 by Working Party 29 still valid? Article 29 Working Party issued comprehensive guidance on […]