Today, the European Commission (EC) proposed a new law to enhance cooperation between data protection authorities (DPAs) in cross-border cases under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) establishing specific procedural rules for cases involving individuals in multiple Member States. These rules are set to clarify complaint procedures for individuals, ensuring their active involvement for swifter case resolution, benefiting both individuals and businesses. Additionally, they enhance cooperation and efficiency for data protection authorities.
The new regulation is to harmonize rules in the following areas to support the smooth functioning of the GDPR's cooperation and consistency mechanism:
- Rights of complainants: The proposal ensures harmonized requirements for admissible cross-border complaints, grants common rights for complainants to be heard, and specifies their involvement in investigated cases.
- Rights of parties under investigation (controllers and processors): The proposal grants parties under investigation the right to be heard during key stages, including dispute resolution by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), and clarifies content of and access to the administrative file.
- Streamlining cooperation and dispute resolution: The proposal empowers DPAs to express their views early in investigations, use all of the GDPR cooperation tools, i.e. joint investigations and mutual assistance, and sets detailed rules for swift dispute resolution, enhancing their influence and reducing disagreements in cross-border cases.
Ursula Pachl, BEUC Deputy Director General, said: "As good as the GDPR is on paper, it has been hamstrung by weak enforcement when it comes to EU-wide infringements by big companies. Consumer organizations have repeatedly experienced how difficult it is for consumers to have their rights respected if authorities do not act faster and in a more coordinated way. Weak and slow enforcement only suits Big Tech and other companies who make money from trampling on people’s right to personal data protection. The Commission has recognized the situation but the cure it is proposing is unlikely to help the patient. The Parliament and national governments need to substantially improve the proposal and rectify what is missing, such as giving consumer organizations the same procedural rights as defendants in a case. With the EU elections on the horizon, we need a new and better approach to enforcement to show people that the EU cares about their rights and they can be enforced in practice. It is crucial that this EU law does not prevent better procedural rights already in place or which may be adopted in the future in EU member states."
Source: EC & BEUC
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