The COVID-19 pandemic has upended global business, but European regulators say it won’t stop them from promoting privacy and data protection, according to the International Association of Privacy Professionals.
“What’s clear about the regulators’ enforcement strategies is that they each intend to keep pushing data protection forward, knowing its general importance is only growing as the effects of COVID-19 continue to take shape”
- Ireland: No particular stance across the board on any type of softening of approach. “We’ll consider any reasonable request for some kind of extension or a derogation that needs to be applied, but it’s not our starting point”
- France: “The priorities of our enforcement policy remain broadly unchanged: data security, respect for the rights of individuals through the investigation of complaints and the development and effectiveness of European cooperation”.
- UK: “Initially announced there would be considerable rollbacks on her office’s enforcement work”. More recently announced that the Information Commissioner’s Office moved to “back away or postpone certain cases affecting front line workers” but otherwise was staying the course.”
- Germany: Germany will not back off of the stringent scheme on General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) fines it had settled upon before the pandemic came to be.