On 7 July 2026, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted its draft Guidelines 02/2026 on Anonymisation for public consultation. The Guidelines provide long-awaited clarification on when data can truly be considered anonymous under the GDPR, updating the previous Article 29 Working Party’s 2014 Opinion on anonymisation to reflect significant legal, and technological
Continue Reading EU: EDPB Publishes Draft Guidelines on Anonymisation
Today, 17 July 2026, marks an important milestone under the EU’s Critical Entities Resilience Directive (CER), as Member States are required to identify and designate the entities considered “critical” for the provision of essential services.
Understanding the CER Directive
The CER forms part of the EU’s broader effort to strengthen the resilience of
Continue Reading EU: CER Directive enters a new phase as “critical entity” designation deadline arrives
Deepfakes (AI-generated synthetic media capable of producing highly realistic images, audio, and video of real individuals) have graduated from a mere novelty to a genuine legal concern. Using neural networks trained on visual and audio data, deepfake systems can replicate a person’s appearance and voice with remarkable fidelity, producing content that is often indistinguishable from
Continue Reading EU and China: Deepfakes and the law: perspectives from the EU and China
“Important data” is a concept unique to China law. It refers to data relating to specific topics, groups, or regions, or data that reaches a certain level of precision and scale, the tampering, destruction, leakage or illegal acquisition or use of which may directly jeopardize national security, economic operations, social stability, public health or safety.
Continue Reading CHINA: China’s Free Trade Zone Negative Lists – Early Signal of How “Important Data” May Be Defined
For years, China’s cross-border data transfer regime was long on rules but short on consequences. Companies—both foreign and domestic—were given a relatively extended period to understand the requirements, formulate suitable strategies, and implement compliance measures. Recent enforcement actions led by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country’s data regulator, suggest that the education phase
Continue Reading CHINA: China’s Data Regulator Means Business – The Education Phase Is Over
A proposed common template for personal data breach notifications recently published by the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB“) for consultation has the potential to assist organisations in streamlining personal data breach reporting across the EU while also raising additional complexity and challenges for businesses.
In line with the EDPB’s Helsinki Statement on enhanced
Continue Reading EU: EDPB common template for breach notifications – welcome alignment or further complexity?On April 7, 2026, the Alabama legislature unanimously passed House Bill 351, the Alabama Personal Data Protection Act. The bill cleared the House 104-0 and the Senate 34-0, making Alabama the 21st state to enact a comprehensive consumer privacy statute. If signed by Governor Kay Ivey, the law will take effect on May 1
Continue Reading U.S.: Alabama Becomes 21st State to Enact Comprehensive Privacy Law
Organisations are increasingly turning to AI-enabled tools throughout the recruitment lifecycle, from CV filtering and suitability scoring to online assessments and behavioural analysis. These tools can offer real advantages, including faster hiring processes and the potential to reduce human bias that inevitably exists in traditional recruitment. However, their use often creates a tension with data
Continue Reading UK: ICO Report on Automated Decision-Making in Recruitment
Summary
On 19 March 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down its judgment in Case C-526/24, Brillen Rottler, clarifying that a data subject’s first request for access to personal data under Article 15 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) may be refused as “excessive”.
Continue Reading EU: CJEU Rules That a Single DSAR Can Be Refused as Abusive
S‑RM’s 2026 Cyber Incident Insights Report offers one of the clearest indicators yet of how rapidly the global threat landscape is shifting. Drawing on more than 800 incidents handled throughout 2025, the report reveals a ransomware ecosystem that is expanding, fragmenting and becoming less predictable, while AI adoption(on both sides of the divide) introduces new
Continue Reading Key Takeaways from the S-RM Cyber Incident Insights Report 2026
