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ARTICLE · 21 APRIL 2016

The Data Protection Directive Is Dead! Long Live The General Data Protection Regulation!

Reed Smith (Worldwide)
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After four years of protracted discussions and negotiations, the General Data Protection Regulation gained final approval from the European Parliament 14 April.

European UnionPrivacy
Kate Brimsted
Kate Brimsted
Cynthia O'Donoghue
Cynthia O'Donoghue
Tom Evans
Tom Evans
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After four years of protracted discussions and negotiations, the General Data Protection Regulation (the "GDPR") gained final approval from the European Parliament 14 April. It will enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (expected imminently), and it comes into force two years after that date – i.e., mid-2018.

The GDPR replaces the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC (the "Directive") and the legislation enacted by Member States to implement it. As a regulation, the GDPR will be directly applicable in all Member States; indeed, one of its core aims is to harmonise legal requirements across the EU, eliminating many of the inconsistencies that developed under the Directive.

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