Data Privacy Blog » data privacy

Just in Case e-zine: Personal Data: The New “Oil” of The Digital Economy

Bogdan Halcu — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 11:10:24 +0000

Modern society is experiencing an unprecedented “data boom”, fundamentally altering and adding sophistication to all human activities, which are thus becoming ever more information-driven. Numerous studies convincingly show that such “data universe” in full expansion impacts businesses (which need to understand and adjust to a dynamic environment), as well as consumers (which are both the fundamental source and the ultimate beneficiaries of shifting commercial trends). In 2012, The Boston Consulting Group estimated that the volume of global data transactions increases annually by 45%, which means that the data volume doubles every one–and- a- half years. As a relevant dimension of this process, the history of internet browsing indicates that the total internet traffic has experienced an outstanding growth in the past two decades. In 1992, global internet networks carried approximately 100 GB of traffic per day. In 2002, that amounted to 100 GB per second, while in 2015 global internet traffic reached more than 20,000 GB per second1. This data and information revolution brings about new economic, social and ethical challenges, as individuals become not only consumers, but also providers of a very valuable asset: their personal data, often referred to as “the new oil” which the industry is keen to process for powering-up lucrative operations. As illustrative as this comparison may sound, one must keep in mind that personal data is not a resource waiting to be harvested and exploited. Use of personal data needs to be calibrated so as to ensure the protection of fundamental rights, especially privacy and data protection, without affecting economic expansion. On the one hand, consumers whose data are harvested by the industry have a legal right that their personal data be used for legitimate purposes, which the consumers are duly and timely made aware of. Consumers expect that, when handling their personal data, the industry makes sure such data is protected against misuse. Statistics show however that there are considerable worries about privacy, and these worries can negatively affect the business. On the other hand, given the high commercial potential of personal data, the industry may see rules on protection of personal data as an obstacle to their development.

This article was first published in Just in Case, an electronic magazine by Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații. To read the entire article, please go to: http://www.tuca.ro/just_in_case/

Just in Case e-zine: The Watchful Eye

Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 11:09:18 +0000

As part of our value-added client service programme, Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații regularly host bespoke events for the firm’s clients and other interested parties.

Our public speaking events have always aimed at creating a platform for debate, as well as trying to find solutions to legal issues that weigh on our clients’ minds. Drawing on their experience, our lawyers and consultants are genuinely interested in interacting with broad audiences in order to convene people from divergent economic sectors so as to reach desirable answers for the debated subjects. Our latest seminar, “Monitoring vs. Privacy of the Employees at the Workplace. Current Legal Dilemmas and Practical Solutions”, took place on 31 May at the Cesianu-Racoviță Palace (the Artmark Galleries), and it proved to serve its purpose. As a fair balance between the employer’s interests and the employee’s right to privacy is an extremely delicate issue, that might often give rise to numerous predicaments and controversies, we found it necessary for a discussion to be carried out in this regard. Moreover, recent enactments, such as the EU Regulation concerning data processing (i.e., the ECHR judgement in the Bărbulescu vs. Romania case), provided for a good occasion to comment on the impact of the latest case-laws in this matter. Along with the Țuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii team (Bogdan Halcu, Managing Associate; Ciprian Timofte, Managing Associate; and Sergiu Crețu, Senior Associate) specialising in data protection, speakers and representatives of the National Supervisory Authority for Personal Data Processing (ANSPDCP) took lead in the presentation and the ensuing discussions. Since its announcement, the event has quickly gained people’s interest and thus approximately 50 legal advisors, Human Resources managers, directors of internal audit (compliance) and specialists in the legal, administrative and even IT fields have joined our speakers, all interested in strengthening their knowledge on data privacy in relation to monitoring employees. The debate was highly appreciated, as the relevant news in the field were combined with case studies at hand. Not only did this discussion bring an insightful overview upon recently enacted regulations, but it also raised a well-based round of Q&A that helped put people’s mind at ease when applying the knowledge to their specific work situation. Most of the discussion was focused on matters concerning principles and general rules for monitoring employees, such as consent to monitoring and the need to provide this consent, internet and e-mail monitoring, video and audio monitoring at the workplace, GPS, and electronic access systems, from a legal and moral perspective.

This article was first published in Just in Case, an electronic magazine by Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații. To read the entire article, please go to: http://www.tuca.ro/just_in_case/

Just in Case e-zine: Moving Data Centres to Romania: The Do’s and Don’ts

Sergiu Crețu — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 11:01:39 +0000

In recent years, Romania has become a more prominent investment location for data centre providers on account of country’s sustained economic growth, the proliferation of the IT&C infrastructure, coupled with Romania’s highly skilled workforce in the IT&C industry and the overall lower operating costs as compared to other countries.

Drawing upon our team’s extensive expertise in data protection applicable regulations affecting various industries, a number of foreign data centre providers retained Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații for advice on the legal implications of moving data centres/ servers to Romania. When prospecting the idea of locating data centres / servers in Romania, services providers should take into account that certain regulatory requirements may apply, especially those concerning data protection/security, including the rules on the governmental access to data. We shall briefly outline below a few of the most common regulatory issues raised by our clients, together with a few recommendations in connection thereto.

How to Determine Whether Romanian Data Protection Law Applies

Law No. 677/2001 on processing of personal data shall apply to data controllers not based in Romania to the extent they use equipment, automated or otherwise, located on Romanian territory, unless such equipment is only used for transiting the data through Romanian territory. These provisions seem conflicting with the provisions of the EU Data Protection Directive, under which national law becomes relevant when data controllers established in a non-EU Member State make use of equipment situated on the territory of EU Member States. This inconsistency between the national law and the EU directive may be explained by the fact that Law No. 677/2001 was enacted before Romania’s accession to the EU.

This article was first published in Just in Case, an electronic magazine by Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații. To read the entire article, please go to: http://www.tuca.ro/just_in_case/