Around the world, policymakers are focusing on ways to improve privacy frameworks. More than 120 countries currently have a privacy or data protection law enacted. Significant developments in the European Union, with the General Data Protection Regulation becoming applicable in May 2018, have had an impact on US based organizations that conduct business globally and on how regulators around the world think about privacy frameworks. Global approaches to privacy protection differ based on different legal traditions. Still, there is significant common ground in the commitment to empowering individuals with respect to the collection and use of personal data, and to protecting people against harm from the use of their data. FPF closely follows developments in EU policymaking and regulation supported by our local office in Brussels, as well as developments in APAC, and Latin America. We keep our stakeholders informed of relevant changes, case-law, guidance, policies, and legal requirements, while also providing background and in-depth analysis in order to support them in being ahead of key developments globally. FPF’s global work is led by Dr. Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna.
FPF Launches Infographics in Chinese
As FPF’s work expands to include an international audience, we are pleased to relaunch FPF’s popular infographics in various languages. Because conversations around data protection have become more global, the need for high-quality information and new forms of communication in different languages continues to increase. The infographics translation project aims to help FPF provide a […]
Comparative Look at Models of Data Protection – Series of Webinars Led by the Israel Tech Policy Institute (ITPI)
Authors: Kavisha Patel and Lee Matheson Kavisha Patel is a current student at Georgetown Law and an FPF Global Privacy Intern. As a result of Israel’s recently proposed comprehensive privacy law update, the Protection of Privacy Bill, the Israel Tech Policy Institute led a series of three webinars in February 2022 discussing comparative models of […]
The ebb and flow of trans-Atlantic data transfers: It’s the geopolitics, stupid!*
The following is a guest post to the FPF blog from Lokke Moerel, Professor of Global ICT Law at Tilburg University and a Dutch Cyber Security Council member. Guest blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of FPF. 1. Introduction There is a call for a rational debate on trans-Atlantic data transfers. Frustrations increase […]
Reading the Signs: the Political Agreement on the New Transatlantic Data Privacy Framework
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced last Friday, in Brussels, a political agreement on a new Transatlantic framework to replace the Privacy Shield. This is a significant escalation of the topic within Transatlantic affairs, compared to the 2016 announcement of a […]
FPF Statement on the EU/US Transatlantic Data Agreement
March 25, 2022 — This morning the European Union and the United States came to a breakthrough agreement in principle, which allows Europeans’ personal data to flow to the United States. Future of Privacy Forum’s CEO Jules Polonetsky said: We are encouraged to see progress in the important effort to ensure that cross-border EU-U.S. research, […]
The Significance of Inclusion in Clinical Trials and Medical Research Databases
Our colleagues at the Israel Tech Policy Institute (ITPI) published a thoughtful blog on the significance of diversity and inclusion in clinical trials and health and medical research databases. They discuss the imperative of being represented in data, for one’s existence to be recognized and considered. When such data is the building block for a […]
Brussels Privacy Symposium 2021 Report
On November 16, 2021, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and the Brussels Privacy Hub of Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) hosted the Brussels Privacy Symposium 2021 – The Age of AI Regulation: Global Strategic Directions. The event, convened by Jules Polonetsky, CEO of FPF, Christopher Kuner and Gianclaudio Malgieri, Co-Chairs of the Brussels Privacy Hub […]
New FPF Report: Demystifying Data Localization in China – A Practical Guide
On February 21, 2022, FPF published a report detailing China’s data governance framework for data localization and cross-border transfers. The report outlines 10 steps organizations can take before deciding to localize or transfer data, with practical advice on how to carry out each of them. By examining provisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations passed […]
How the Kenyan High Court (temporarily) struck down the national digital ID Card: Context and Analysis
The High Court of Kenya, by virtue of a judicial review application, delivered a landmark judgment declaring the proposed national digital ID card (Huduma Card) unconstitutional on October 14, 2021 – a judgment that is now part of the growing data protection and privacy jurisprudence in the country. Kenya enacted its first Data Protection Act […]
Understanding why the first pieces fell in the transatlantic transfers domino
Two decisions issued by Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) in Europe and published in the second week of January 2022 found that two websites, one run by a contractor of the European Parliament (EP), and the other one by an Austrian company, have unlawfully transferred personal data to the US merely by placing cookies (Google Analytics and Stripe) provided by two US-based companies on the devices of their visitors.