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ARTICLE · 09 AUGUST 2016

The GDPR – Key Points For Canadian Businesses

McMillan LLP
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In 1995 the European Union ("EU") adopted the Data Protection Directive (the "Directive") which regulates the processing of personal data within the EU.

CanadaPrivacy
Lyndsay Wasser
Lyndsay Wasser
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Co-authored by Bob Bell, Student-at-Law

Background

In 1995 the European Union ("EU") adopted the Data Protection Directive (the "Directive") which regulates the processing of personal data within the EU. The Directive provides guidelines for the development of privacy law in Member States. Since the Directive is not itself a binding law on companies and individuals, each Member State was required to implement its own law. This has created a patchwork of privacy laws across the EU that adhere to the basic principles of the Directive.

On April 14, 2016, the European Parliament approved and adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to bring a single cohesive system of privacy regulation to the EU. The GDPR was published in the EU Official Journal on May 4, 2016 and will come into force on May 25, 2018. The EU intends for this single law to strengthen the protection of individual privacy rights and simplify business rules for companies operating in the

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