Data Protection Laws

Introduction to personal data protection/ What is personal data protection?

Data protection is the procedure and measure adopted for the purpose of safeguarding personal data from corruption, theft and loss. Personal data, in this arena, is the information specific to a living individual. Examples of Personal data include name, address, emails, Internet Protocol (IP) address, location data, identifiable numbers (Aadhar and social security numbers).

In today’s context personal information is precious and thus the adoption of measures for protection of data is of utmost importance.

Legislations for the protection of personal data/ What are the legislations for personal data?

With more and more organizations shifting their paradigm online, the protection of personal data and privacy is a concern throughout the world. As per UNCTAD, 128 out of 194 countries have put in place legislation to secure the protection of data and privacy. Compliance to region specific data privacy laws is a must for every organization having global presence. A data privacy law firm equips and provides an organization with a complete solution for all data protection legal services. As one of the best data privacy law firms in India, we offer compliance services and different privacy implementations programs to clients all around the world.

A global privacy program is a process which is supported by regional procedures, protocols, training, drills, and other various activities to determine the safeguard measures required to be carried out during the processing of data. Thus, organizations operating physically and virtually across multiple borders and engaging with citizens of different countries have a higher mandate to devise their privacy policies so as to ensure seamless compliance with a multitude of privacy laws. As a data privacy law firm in India, we offer compliance solutions and data protection legal services for not only India but data privacy laws all around the world. An overview of the Data Privacy laws in applicable in regions is given below.

  • European UnionThe General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is considered the golden standard for data protection and enhancing measures for protection of privacy. The regulation contains provisions and requirements related to the processing of personal data of individuals on the basis of certain principles, who are located in the European Economic Area (EEA). It also applies to any enterprise when businesses extend their impact to the EEA region, regardless of their location. The provisions of GDPR mandate compliance for processing related to the data of all subjects, to ensure such processing is done in accordance with the law.
  • United States of AmericaPrivacy in the Unites States of America (USA) is regulated by fragmented sector specific regulations which contain provisions on data privacy and security. Various states have introduced their own privacy laws to safeguard privacy of their residents. The State of California enacted the privacy legislation in 2020, by the introduction of The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) which was the first to enhance data protection in the USA. The legislation seeks to establish the procedure for identifying, managing, securing, tracking, producing, and deleting consumer privacy information so as to protect the privacy rights of the users. The state also has enacted The California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) which shall be enforced on 1st of January 2023 giving further control of data to the Data Subjects. The State of Connecticut is set to enforce their privacy law, The Connecticut Data Breach Law, while the State of Virginia has enacted their Data Protection Law named as Consumer Data Protection Act on the date of March 2, 2021. We provide a comprehensive privacy compliance solutions to help business steer smoothly through the numerous US privacy laws compliance.
  • IndiaThe Personal Data Protection Bill is due to be enacted in India soon. The bill lists the compliances, obligations and responsibility of an organisation in ensuring protection of personal data. It sets out provisions to regulate the processing of personal data within Indian Territory or by the Indian Government, entities incorporated under Indian law and Indian citizens or entities outside Indian Territory but with some tangible business connection in India.Data Protection in India is gaining tremendous importance and the introduction of the bill will enhance compliances and measures for protection of data. As a data privacy law firm, we provide data protection legal services for compliances of global laws along with enacting measures for data protection in India and other countries.
  • Gulf CountriesThe countries of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain and Oman form the consortium of Gulf countries. While majority of these countries do not have a dedicated data protection law, different sectorial regulations provide for compliance guidelines in the region. The legislations require a standard code of measures and security implementations for stringent protection of personal data.Contours of Data Protection laws
  • Inclusion of sensitive personal dataSensitive personal data refers to any information which is considered ‘sensitive’ in the region which are pre-defined under a ‘special category’ of data. Examples of sensitive personal data include racial or ethnic origin, political options, genetic data or biometric data. Any region can specifically include a type of personal data to categorize it as sensitive personal data. The significance of sensitive personal data denotes the sensitivity of information and thus implies additional protection and measures for their processing.
  • Periodic review of stored personal dataPersonal data possessed by the company have to abide by the principles of storing personal data only until it is required and only for its intended purpose. Companies also have to ensure that the stored personal data is kept up to date and does not become redundant or stale. Thus, period checks on the stored personal data are a must. Such periodic checks form part of Data protection Assessments which are required to be carried out by companies to gage the effects of measures and practices of data protection.
  • Requirement of consent and noticesData protection laws and regulations around the world specifies legal basis of processing personal data. Majority laws specify the requirement of a specific, clear and affirmative consent to be obtained by the companies. Regulations also require the companies to notify a data subject upon their data being processed, erased or shared with any other party.
  • Data Protection AuthoritiesWith the existence and enactment of data privacy and protection laws, there is also an establishment of a data protection authority. Such authority ensures compliances, releases guidance’s and introduces rules and regulations for ensuring further protection of data. Companies are required to operate and report to such Data Protection Authorities supervising their jurisdiction.
  • Excessive liability for non-complianceWith the importance gained by personal data protection, the laws enacted for such protection are very stringent. The noncompliance of any regulations for processing and protection of data results into stringent and excessive liabilities in forms of fines and supervisions of authorities.As a data privacy law firm, we provide the company with the capability and measures to strengthen the data protection measures of the company.

Data Protection Legal Services offered by ReinHeads

  • Implementing privacy programs
  • Evaluating and monitoring compliance levels from a legal standpoint under various jurisdiction
  • Acting as a Data Protection Officer
  • Drafting relevant agreements/ policies for securing consent, provision of notice etc.
  • Carrying out Data Protection Impact Assessment
  • Suggesting security and privacy best practices, policies and standards
  • Developing mitigation plan for possible privacy breaches
  • Assisting with disputes under the realm of data protection/ privacy, if any
  • Delivering trainings on the legal provisions to the concerned teams

ReinHeads has been recognized as one of India’s best data privacy law firm for ‘Data Compliance and Cybersecurity’ by India Business Journal.

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