CMS Guide sheds light on Europe’s data privacy laws and current practice

Data privacy is one of the key legal issues of the internet age. Social media, electronic communications and data transfer are blurring the boundaries between public and private, business and personal information. For companies, data privacy is now an increasingly important factor in key stakeholder relationships – with employees and employee organisations, regulators, existing and potential customers and recruits.

The CMS Guide to Data Privacy provides a comprehensive overview of data privacy laws in 22 countries across Europe, including Russia. It addresses key aspects of employer and employee rights and responsibilities in this vital area of labour law:

• What is the legal situation regarding employees’ private use of the internet and company e-mails at work?
• What information can an employer collect and use during the recruitment process – from the individual and from social media?
• What can employers do to regulate the use of social media by employees?
• What data privacy issues are raised by GPS tracking and video surveillance?
• How does data protection law apply to data transfers between group companies?

Christoph Wolf, partner and employment law expert at CMS in Vienna comments: “Data privacy is an increasingly important area for companies in many areas of business today, especially in labour law. Our Guide will help companies operating in Europe understand the common ground, as well as some significant differences, between data privacy laws in key European jurisdictions.”

The jurisdictions covered are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

Please get in touch with us, to request a copy of the study, or speak to one of our experts.