Happy rentrée

With the summer holiday season coming to an end, it is time for the annual rentrée - back to school, back to work and back to our never ending roster of tricky yet stimulating privacy-related With the summer holiday season coming to an end, it is time for the annual rentrée - back to school, back to work and back to our never ending roster of tricky yet stimulating privacy-related challenges.

And what an exciting rentrée this one is for the privacy and data protection world.  For those who have just finished putting away their swimming costumes and beach towels, here is a very quick update on what is happening right now:

• *     The European Commission is giving the final touches to the legislative reform proposals that will eventually replace the 1995 data protection directive.  Expect big changes on applicable law, mechanisms to put people in control of their data, an emphasis on transparency, a fully blown 'accountability package' and innovations on adequacy for international data transfers.


• *     France has now implemented the cookie consent rule, which seems to allow implied consent via browser settings.  For an at-a-glance look at where other EU jurisdictions are on this process and their likely stance across Europe, have a look at our cookie consent tracking table.  Also, stay tuned to the IAPP website for a forthcoming webminar on this issue.


• *     In the meantime, the Article 29 Working Party has given its verdict on the proposed self-regulatory framework for online behavioural advertising and said that the framework does not meet the consent requirements.  However, there should still be room for a fully compliant approach that does not necessary involve bombarding Internet users with pop up windows and tick boxes.


• *     The Article 29 Working Party is also working on streamlining further the BCR approval process in anticipation of the likely explicit recognition in the forthcoming data protection legal framework.  For a full update on what is going on, make sure you attend the BCR Masterclass on 27 September.


• *     The DPA for the German state of Schleswig-Holstein has ordered website owners in that state to remove social plug-ins such as the 'like' button from their sites by the end of this month or they will face enforcement action.  Such a draconian action seems completely out of sync with what is happening in the real world and the growing uptake by businesses and organisations of social and professional networking tools.  What can possibly happen next?

Lots to come to terms with in the coming weeks...  Plus looking forward to catching up in person with those attending the IAPP Academy in Dallas.