EU data protection reform

Head of Intellectual Property, Simon Miles and Associate Karen Lee, discuss the proposed EU Directive on EU data protection reform. With the advancement of technology and data used online and the problems faced by businesses that operate in numerous Member States, it is not surprising that on 25 January 2012, the European Commission proposed a comprehensive reform of the EU Data Protection Directive and published the first version of the proposed Data Protection Regulation to replace the 1995 Directive.

Whilst there have been many meetings, amendments and discussions as to the proposed Regulation, the exact wording of the Regulation has yet to be agreed. Whilst there is no set deadline, it is generally expected that the Regulation will be agreed by 2015 and will come into force in 2017 and will be applicable in all EU Member States. However what is clear is that the message the European Parliament is sending out is that the reform is a necessity and is now irreversible.

Please click here for the full article which originally appeared in the September 2014 edition of Financier Worldwide.