The European Data Protection Seal is the official European data protection certification under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). [1] According to Art. 42 GDPR, the aim of this certification is to demonstrate "compliance with the GDPR of processing operations by controllers and processors" [2] . Over 70 references to certification can be found in the GDPR, encompassing various obligations, such as: [2]
The adoption of the European Data Protection Seals falls under the responsibility of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and is recognized across all EU and EEA Member States. [3]
In parallel to the adoption of the GDPR, several European research projects have been working on GDPR certification. This has led to the specification of the Europrivacy criteria that have been transferred to the European Centre for Certification and Privacy (ECCP). Europrivacy is managed by the International Board of Experts of ECCP.
In October 2022, the EDPB approved the Europrivacy criteria to serve as European Data Protection Seal under Art. 42 GDPR. [4] In 2024, Europrivacy was validated by the European Accreditation for accreditation under Art. 43 GDPR. Since then, several Certification Bodies have been accredited and the first European Data Protection Seals have been delivered. [5]
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), also known as Data Protection Commission, is the independent national authority responsible for upholding the EU fundamental right of individuals to data privacy through the enforcement and monitoring of compliance with data protection legislation in Ireland. It was established in 1989.
Ecolabels and Green Stickers are labeling systems for food and consumer products. The use of ecolabels is voluntary, whereas green stickers are mandated by law; for example, in North America major appliances and automobiles use Energy Star. They are a form of sustainability measurement directed at consumers, intended to make it easy to take environmental concerns into account when shopping. Some labels quantify pollution or energy consumption by way of index scores or units of measurement, while others assert compliance with a set of practices or minimum requirements for sustainability or reduction of harm to the environment. Many ecolabels are focused on minimising the negative ecological impacts of primary production or resource extraction in a given sector or commodity through a set of good practices that are captured in a sustainability standard. Through a verification process, usually referred to as "certification", a farm, forest, fishery, or mine can show that it complies with a standard and earn the right to sell its products as certified through the supply chain, often resulting in a consumer-facing ecolabel.
A cybersecurity regulation comprises directives that safeguard information technology and computer systems with the purpose of forcing companies and organizations to protect their systems and information from cyberattacks like viruses, worms, Trojan horses, phishing, denial of service (DOS) attacks, unauthorized access and control system attacks. While cybersecurity regulations aim to minimize cyber risks and enhance protection, the uncertainty arising from frequent changes or new regulations can significantly impact organizational response strategies.
TrustArc Inc. is a privacy compliance technology company based in Walnut Creek, California. The company provides software and services to help corporations update their privacy management processes so they comply with government laws and best practices. Their privacy seal or certification of compliance can be used as a marketing tool.
Product certification or product qualification is the process of certifying that a certain product has passed performance tests and quality assurance tests, and meets qualification criteria stipulated in contracts, regulations, or specifications.
Pseudonymization is a data management and de-identification procedure by which personally identifiable information fields within a data record are replaced by one or more artificial identifiers, or pseudonyms. A single pseudonym for each replaced field or collection of replaced fields makes the data record less identifiable while remaining suitable for data analysis and data processing.
Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive2002/58/EC on Privacy and Electronic Communications, otherwise known as ePrivacy Directive (ePD), is an EU directive on data protection and privacy in the digital age. It presents a continuation of earlier efforts, most directly the Data Protection Directive. It deals with the regulation of a number of important issues such as confidentiality of information, treatment of traffic data, spam and cookies. This Directive has been amended by Directive 2009/136, which introduces several changes, especially in what concerns cookies, that are now subject to prior consent.
The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) is the body in which the regulators of the telecommunications markets in the European Union work together. Other participants include representatives of the European Commission, as well as telecommunication regulators from the member states of the EEA and of states that are in the process of joining the EU.
The General Data Protection Regulation, abbreviated GDPR, or French RGPD is a European Union regulation on information privacy in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). The GDPR is an important component of EU privacy law and human rights law, in particular Article 8(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. It also governs the transfer of personal data outside the EU and EEA. The GDPR's goals are to enhance individuals' control and rights over their personal information and to simplify the regulations for international business. It supersedes the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and, among other things, simplifies the terminology.
CISPE is a non-profit trade association for infrastructure as a service (IaaS) cloud providers in Europe. It was started to aid IaaS providers in explaining their business model to policymakers.
The ePrivacy Regulation (ePR) is a proposal for the regulation of various privacy-related topics, mostly in relation to electronic communications within the European Union. Its full name is "Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the respect for private life and the protection of personal data in electronic communications and repealing Directive 2002/58/EC ." It would repeal the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive 2002 and would be lex specialis to the General Data Protection Regulation. It would particularise and complement the latter in respect of privacy-related topics. Key fields of the proposed regulation are the confidentiality of communications, privacy controls through electronic consent and browsers, and cookies.
NOYB – European Center for Digital Rights is a non-profit organization based in Vienna, Austria established in 2017 with a pan-European focus. Co-founded by Austrian lawyer and privacy activist Max Schrems, NOYB aims to launch strategic court cases and media initiatives in support of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the proposed ePrivacy Regulation, and information privacy in general. The organisation was established after a funding period during which it has raised annual donations of €250,000 by supporting members. Currently, NOYB is financed by more than 4,400 supporting members.
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) is a European Union independent body with juridical personality whose purpose is to ensure consistent application of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and to promote cooperation among the EU’s data protection authorities. On 25 May 2018, the EDPB replaced the Article 29 Working Party.
The Data Protection Act 2018 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which updates data protection laws in the UK. It is a national law which complements the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and replaces the Data Protection Act 1998.
The right of access, also referred to as right to access and (data) subject access, is one of the most fundamental rights in data protection laws around the world. For instance, the United States, Singapore, Brazil, and countries in Europe have all developed laws that regulate access to personal data as privacy protection. The European Union states that: "The right of access occupies a central role in EU data protection law's arsenal of data subject empowerment measures." This right is often implemented as a Subject Access Request (SAR) or Data Subject Access Request (DSAR).
The EU Cloud Code of Conduct is a transnational Code of Conduct pursuant Article 40 of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The EU–US Data Privacy Framework is a European Union–United States data transfer framework that was agreed to in 2022 and declared adequate by the European Commission in 2023. Previous such regimes—the EU–US Privacy Shield (2016–2020) and the International Safe Harbor Privacy Principles (2000–2015)—were declared invalid by the European Court of Justice in part due to concerns that personal data leaving EU borders is subject to sweeping US government surveillance. The EU-US Data Privacy Framework is intended to address these concerns.
Consent-or-pay, also called pay-or-okay, is a compliance tactic used by certain companies, most notably Meta, to drive up the rates at which users consent to data processing under the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It consists of presenting the user with a tracking consent notice, but only allowing a binary choice: either the user consents to the data processing, or they are required to pay to use the service, which is otherwise free to use if data processing is consented to. The tactic has been criticised by privacy advocates and non-governmental organisations such as NOYB and Wikimedia Europe, who claim that it is illegal under the GDPR. On 17 April 2024, the European Data Protection Board released a non-binding opinion stating that in most cases, consent-or-pay models do not constitute valid consent within the meaning of the GDPR.
Europrivacy is a comprehensive certification scheme designed to assess and verify compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The European Centre for Certification and Privacy (ECCP) is a European organization established in Luxembourg. Its mission is to support research and standardization in the field of data regulation and regulatory compliance.