A decade ago, or perhaps even half a decade ago, tell someone you were involved in data privacy rights and they’d be bored to tears from the outset. Compare that to now, following Edward Snowden, Max Schrems, the invalidation of Safe Harbor and Apple’s battle with the FBI over encrypted iPhones, data privacy and security are some of the hottest topics not only in the international law context, but in the news generally. The average citizen, on both sides of the Atlantic, is now far more aware of their data privacy rights, and when those rights might be jeopardized, than any time in the digital age.
In general, we seem to be entering a new regulatory framework in which data privacy protections have matured greatly and are being taken much more seriously. The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a long-awaited effort to unify and strengthen the approach to personal data protection for all 28 member-states, will carry steep administrative fines for violations, including up to 4 percent of annual, global revenue. Moreover, the U.S. Judicial Redress Act, signed by President Obama in late February, gives EU citizens unprecedented access to U.S. courts to challenge U.S. companies’ disclosure of their private data to the government. It also includes a provision for the U.S. government’s use of the data.
