Highlights of the latest EDPB meeting; one-stop-shop mechanism and Privacy Shield
The European data protection authorities, assembled in the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), met on the 4th and 5th of July for the EDPB’s second plenary meeting. During this meeting, the European Data Protection Authorities addressed a wide range of topics.
The EDPB discussed the consistency and the cooperation mechanisms, sharing experiences, challenges and discussing the types of questions received. Most data protection authorities reported a substantial increase of complaints received. The first cases were initiated on the 25th of May. Currently, around 30 cross-border complaints are under investigation. The EDPB Chair Andrea Jelinek said: “Despite the sharp increase in the number of cases in the last month, the Members of the EDPB report that the workload is manageable at the moment, in large part thanks to a thorough preparation of the WP29 in the past two years. The GDPR does not offer a quick fix in case of a complaint but we are confident the procedures detailing the way in which the authorities work together under the consistency mechanism are robust and efficient.” This discussion may facilitate the discussions on the guidance on the procedure and enforcement of codes of conduct. FEDMA will continue to monitor. The IAPP (International Association of Privacy Professionals) recently reached out to the DPAs of all 28 member states and catalogued the number of GDPR complaints they have received since May 25. Though not all DPAs responded, the IAPP was able to compile data on a number of complaints, including those received by the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office.
The EDPB adopted a letter on behalf of the EDPB Chair addressed to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), providing guidance to enable ICANN to develop a GDPR-compliant model for access to personal data processed in the context of WHOIS.
The EDPB adopted a letter on behalf of the EDPB Chair addressed to Sophie in’t Veld MEP regarding the revised Payments Services Directive (PSD2 Directive). In its reply to Sophie in’t Veld the EDPB sheds further light on ‘silent party data’ by Third Party Providers, the procedures with regard to giving and withdrawing consent, the Regulatory Technical Standards, the cooperation between banks and the European Commission, EDPS and WP29 and what remains to be done to close any remaining data protection gaps.
The US Ombudsperson responsible for handling national security complaints under the Privacy Shield, Ambassador Judith Garber, was invited to the plenary meeting of the EDPB for an exchange with the Board Members. The EDPB was particularly interested in the concerns addressed to the US by the EDPB’s predecessor WP29, especially the appointment of a permanent Ombudsperson, formal appointments to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), and the lack of additional information on the Ombudsperson mechanism and further declassification of the procedural rules, in particular on how the Ombudsperson interacts with the intelligence services. The EDPB pointed out that the meeting with the Ombudsperson was interesting and collegial but did not provide a conclusive answer to these concerns and that these issues will remain on top of the agenda during the Second Annual Review (scheduled for October 2018). In addition, it calls for supplementary evidence to be given by the US authorities in order to address these concerns. Finally, the EDPB notes that the same concerns will be addressed by the European Court of Justice in cases that are already pending, and to which the EDPB offers to contribute its view, if invited by the CJEU.
