Data Protection & Privacy

Recent Articles

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  11.09.2023

  EU

  Summer Snapshot: Tech and Data Highlights You Might Have Missed

  Have you taken a break from your usual spot in front of the computer screen over the past few weeks? No worries, this article provides a succinct overview of the significant advancements in the world of technology and data that have transpired over the summer. You’ll soon discover that the summer has been exceptionally eventful in this regard.EU Commission adopted adequacy decision for EU-US Data Privacy FrameworkOn 10 July 2023, the EU Commission announced the adoption of its adequacy decision pertaining to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (“EU-US DPF”). This decision allows...

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  05.09.2023

  Oman

  The New Oman Social Protection Fund Law - Key Changes

  The Sultanate of Oman as a welfare state has for long operated under the old Public Authority for Social Insurance (PASI) Law (Royal Decree 72/9). Recently however, Oman has enacted the novel Social Protection Fund Law (SPFL) (Royal Decree 52/2023) in an attempt to enhance its social welfare framework by creating a single and unified social protection fund that improves financing and provides a wide range of benefits to workers and their families. This article provides an overview of some of the key aspects of the new law and compares it with its repealed predecessor, by highlighting the key impacts...

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  23.08.2023

  Asia-Pacific

  APAC TMC Update – Summer 2023

  ASEANASEAN and EU release joint guide to ASEAN MCCs and EU SCCsOn 24 May 2023, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and European Union (EU) released a Joint Guide to the ASEAN Model Contractual Clauses (MCCs) and EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) to assist businesses operating in ASEAN and the EU with their compliance with applicable laws for international data transfers in both regions.The ASEAN MCCs are a baseline set of contractual clauses that can be adopted by data exporters and importers in all ASEAN member states and may be modified or supplemented to the extent that they...

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  17.08.2023

  United Kingdom

  When curiosity leads to a criminal conviction

  An individual who worked at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) headquarters in Glasgow has been charged with a criminal offence under the Data Protection Act 2018 (the DPA) and handed a £420 fine by Glasgow Sheriff Court.  Her role within COPFS included tasks such as photocopying, scanning, filing and updating management systems.  The woman undertook various searches between April to May 2019, including for information relating to a historical driving offence committed by her father, and for information relating to her then boyfriend.  She was relatively...

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  10.08.2023

  United Kingdom

  Lessons to be learnt from the recent data breaches in the public sector

  Following on from the recently reported data breaches by Police Services of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Electoral Commission (EC), organisations should take a step back and re-evaluate their compliance with UK data protection law.  Whilst data protection remains a hot topic, the rules and guidance are not new concepts.  Organisations need to be aware of their obligations in order to prevent and (if the situation unfortunately arises) to mitigate the effects of data breaches.The recent spate of data breaches The data breach suffered by PSNI was the result of human error when a spreadsheet...

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  10.08.2023

  United Kingdom

  ICO clarifies position on data sharing for financial risk checks

  The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”), the UK’s data protection regulator, has written an open letter to UK Finance, an industry body for UK banking and financial services, to clarify its interpretation of UK data protection laws in the context of financial risk checks in the gambling sector, and in particular credit reference agencies sharing consumer credit risk data with gambling operators.Financial risk checks – what does it mean for customer data?The ICO’s letter to UK Finance follows a request for clarification from the industry body sent last...

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