EDPB publishes draft Guidelines regarding data transfer clarifications

On November 19th, 2021, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published a new set of draft Guidelines 05/2021 on the interplay between the EU General Data Protection Regulation’s (GDPR) territorial scope, and the GDPR’s provisions on international data transfers.

The EDPB stated in their press release that “by clarifying the interplay between the territorial scope of the GDPR (Art. 3) and the provisions on international transfers in Chapter V, the Guidelines aim to assist controllers and processors in the EU in identifying whether a processing operation constitutes an international transfer, and to provide a common understanding of the concept of international transfers.”

The Guidelines set forth three cumulative criteria to consider in determining whether a processing activity qualifies as an international data transfer under the GDPR, namely:

• the exporting controller or processor is subject to the GDPR for the given processing activity,
• the exporting controller or processor transmits or makes available the personal data to the data importer (e.g., another controller, joint controller, or a processor and
• the data importer is in a third country (or is an international organization), irrespective of whether the data importer or its processing activities are subject to the GDPR.

If all three requirements are met, the processing activity is to be considered an international data transfer under the GDPR, which results in the requirements of Chapter V of the GDPR to be applicable.

The Guidelines further clarify that the safeguards implemented to accommodate the international data transfer must be tailored to the specific transfer at issue. In an example, the EDPB indicates that the transfer of personal data to a controller in a third country that is subject to the GDPR will generally require fewer safeguards. In such a case, the transfer tool should focus on the elements and principles that are specific to the importing jurisdiction. This includes particularly conflicting national laws, government access requests in the receiving third country and the difficulty for data subjects to obtain redress against an entity in the receiving third country.

The EDPB offers its support in developing a transfer tool that would cover the above-mentioned situation.

The Guidelines are open for public consultation until January, 31st, 2022.