EU General Data Protection Regulation gains momentum
December 16, 2015
Yesterday evening the EU Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers agreed an accepted version of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The draft is to be presented to the representatives of the member states, as well as to the Committee of Civil Liberties and the Committee of Legal Affairs. If it is confirmed there, then the final vote in the European Parliament and Council of Ministers can take place presumably already in the first quarter of 2016. With the coming into effect of the GDPR, after a transitional period the national data protection regulations will be replaced by the directly applicable European law, which no longer needs to be decided by the member states. The new legislative framework for the protection of person-related data created by this has the advantage for businesses that they will not have to comply to the multitude of still differing data protection laws. It does however bring with it sensitive fines in the case of non-compliance that can amount to up to 4% of worldwide revenue. Those processing person-related customer and/or employee data, should therefore no longer wait to closely check their data protection regulations and should prepare themselves for the changed requirements of data protection compliance.“
Dr. Andreas Leupold, LL. M., Lawyer, Germany, www.leupold-legal.com
