Out-Law.com examines ongoing issues surrounding the EU General Data Protection Regulation and the latest version published by the Irish Presidency of the Council of Ministers. EU officials have said, “Only if organisations are processing sensitive personal information, such as individuals' medical records, should they require individuals' explicit consent to do so,” the report states. A note from the Irish Presidency reads, “The majority of member states agree that the requirement for ‘explicit’ consent in all cases—which differs from the requirements of the 1995 Data Protection Directive—was unrealistic," the report states, noting European Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx previously called for explicit consent to be "maintained" in the final version of the legislation. MP Chris Grayling has suggested the EU’s proposed data protection reforms could “damage business growth and employment prospects” and “leave the EU uncompetitive in the global digital economy for years to come,” but Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding has said the reforms will improve trust in the digital economy. Meanwhile, an Access report discusses “intense” lobbying in the U.S. against the EU’s data protection regulation.
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