New Standard Contractual Clauses from the European Commission
Author: Lowri Morgan-Macdonald
The European Commission recently published new draft standard contractual clauses (SCCs) for the transfer of personal data to countries outside the EEA. The new SCCs are intended to modernise the currently outdated SCCs and to provide more flexibility, for example by allowing the clauses to be entered into between processors and sub-processors.
The new SCCs are open for consultation until 10 December 2020 but we understand that the intention is for these to come into force in the near future, perhaps even before the end of the year (although this seems unlikely). If and when they do come into force, the current SCCs will be repealed and contracting parties will have 12 months to replace such SCCs with the new SCCs. These new clauses will be particularly relevant to any business that transfers personal data outside the EEA to a country that does not benefit from an adequacy decision.
After the end of the transition period, if no adequate decision is made in respect of the UK, these new SCCs will also be particularly relevant for any UK business that receives personal data from within the EEA. If the SCCs come into force before the end of the year, they will form part of retained EU law in the UK. But, if not, the UK government will need to decide whether to bring them into force in the UK.
For more information on the topic, contact a member of the Data Privacy and Cyber Security Team today.
