News & Current Events

Save the Date:

Workshop on International Transfers of Personal Data, October 21, 2008, Centre Albert Borschette, rue Froissart 36, B-1049, Brussels, Belgium

On October 21, 2008, the European Commission will organize a Workshop on International Transfers of Personal Data jointly with the Article 29 Working Party on Data Protection – the independent advisory body on data protection and privacy – and the United States Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration.

This workshop continues a series of conversations between the European Commission and the Department of Commerce and the business community to understand the data protection framework in the European Union and to highlight the common ground shared in protecting personal data albeit under different regulatory perspectives.

Who should attend:

Corporations, law firms, and interest groups concerned about the effect the European Union’s data protection directive and member states data protection laws have on their business; privacy officers, information technology, information and network security officers, corporate counsel, and other corporate officers responsible for global compliance programs.

Why attend:

Since last October, the European Commission and member states have broadened their definitions of what constitutes personally identifiable information to include search engine results and IP addresses. Electronic discovery practices have also come under scrutiny, in part based on different legal frameworks for civil litigation. Further, the EC is studying the rationale for introducing privacy rules for new technologies including RFID. The workshop seeks to establish and expand upon existing dialogue and to share information on how the two systems may work together on achieving common goals.

More information is available on the Directorate General for Justice, Liberty, and Security’s (DG/JLS) website at:

http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/fsj/privacy/index_en.htm.

Note: Space is limited to 90 representatives from U.S. entities. U.S. organizations interested in attending the workshop may contact: Damon Greer, U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room 2003, Washington, D.C. 20230; Telephone: 202-482-5023; Fax: 202-482-5522; Email: damon.greer@mail.doc.gov. Space is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.