The Ban on Personal Data Exports – Article 25 a.k.a. the Eighth Principle
Directive 95/46/EC introduced the Fortress Europe concept into data privacy. Article 25 (which is the Eighth Data Protection Principle in the UK Data Protection Act 1998) makes it unlawful to transfer personal data to countries outside the EEA which lack an “adequate” level of protection. This has caused great concern amongst the business community, not least because “adequate” is defined neither in the Directive nor in the Act.
How Do You Know if A Non-EEA Country Offers Adequate Protection?
The following questions are relevant in assessing adequacy: what kind of data are involved (sensitive or non-sensitive)? What is the purpose of the processing and for how long will it last? What are the relevant laws and codes of practice of the destination country?