Privacy and data protection Archives | Page 2 of 327

European Data Protection Board introduces DPIA template to strengthen GDPR compliance

The European Data Protection Board has introduced a standardised template for Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), aiming to improve consistency and simplify GDPR compliance across Europe.

The initiative follows the board’s broader effort to harmonise regulatory practices and make data protection requirements easier for organisations to apply.

A DPIA is required when data processing is likely to pose a high risk to individuals’ rights and freedoms. It involves describing how personal data is handled, assessing necessity and proportionality, and identifying measures to reduce risk.

The new template is designed to guide organisations step by step, offering structured fields that improve clarity and reduce the risk of incomplete or inconsistent assessments.

While use of the template is not mandatory, organisations are encouraged to adopt it as a practical tool to streamline reporting and ensure completeness. An accompanying document simplifies key concepts and addresses common uncertainties, making implementation more accessible across sectors.

The template will remain open for public consultation until 9 June, after which national data protection authorities are expected to integrate it into their frameworks. Stakeholders are invited to provide feedback during this period as part of ongoing efforts to align data protection practices across the EU.

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Polish data protection authority seeks personal data rules for civic budgets

The President of Poland’s Personal Data Protection Office, Mirosław Wróblewski, has called for legislation clarifying how personal data should be processed in so-called civic budget procedures.

In a submission to the Minister of the Interior and Administration, Wróblewski said that current local government rules do not comprehensively regulate the processing of personal data in participatory budgeting.

According to the office, civic budget procedures involve the processing of personal data not only by public authorities but also by citizens who collect, record, and submit support lists for proposed projects. The authority says this has created practical difficulties for both public bodies responsible for consultations and the people whose data are processed.

The office says local government laws in Poland should clarify who acts as the data controller, what categories of personal data may be processed, how the status of eligible voters should be verified, and how personal data should be secured. It notes that current rules leave these issues largely to local resolutions, without precise statutory criteria on data processing.

The submission also raises concerns about the scope of personal data collected during voting. It states that some civic budget procedures require voters to provide a PESEL number, which can exclude residents who do not have one, including some foreigners and Polish citizens born abroad who use only a passport.

The office says the collection and further processing of PESEL numbers for strictly defined purposes should follow directly from legal provisions and notes that administrative case law has generally found no legal basis for requiring it in this context.

The authority also calls for rules on electronic voting in civic budgets. It says that local authorities do not always consider themselves responsible for data security before support lists are transferred, and that people collecting signatures are not always aware of their responsibilities for processing personal data.

The authority also adds that digital platforms used for such voting should meet minimum criteria consistent with the GDPR and with broader cybersecurity and digital identity frameworks, including NIS2 and eIDAS2.

According to the office, such systems should comply with data minimisation requirements and ensure transparency and verifiability of the voting process, including auditability and verification of vote counting.

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Belgian DPA releases new AI harms information brochure

The Belgian Data Protection Authority has outlined the impact of AI on privacy in a new publication, highlighting growing concerns around data use and protection. The analysis forms part of its ongoing work on emerging technologies.

According to the Belgian Data Protection Authority, AI systems rely on large volumes of data, which can increase risks related to the processing of personal data and compliance with existing regulations. This raises questions about transparency and accountability.

The authority notes that AI can make it more difficult for individuals to understand how their data is used, particularly in complex or automated decision-making systems. This may challenge established data protection principles.

The Authority emphasises the need to adapt regulatory approaches and safeguards to ensure privacy rights remain protected as AI adoption expands in Belgium.

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South Korea warns on AI fake news risks

Reporting by The Korea Herald states that South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has warned of the risks of AI-generated fake news ahead of an upcoming election. Authorities are urging greater vigilance as digital content becomes harder to verify.

According to the report, AI technologies are increasingly capable of producing realistic false information, including manipulated images and videos. This raises concerns about their potential impact on public opinion and trust.

The government has called for precautionary measures to limit the spread of misinformation and protect the integrity of democratic processes. This includes encouraging awareness and responsible use of AI tools.

The warning reflects broader concerns about the influence of AI driven disinformation during election cycles in South Korea.

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Australian authorities warn of data exploitation through social media platforms

Social media and messaging services pose growing security and privacy risks, with personal data used to build profiles for fraud, espionage, or social engineering. Even routine posts may contribute to broader data collection and unintended exposure.

Platforms typically collect extensive user and device data under evolving privacy policies, sometimes storing it across jurisdictions with varying legal protections. Such conditions increase the risks to identity theft, reputational harm, and the misuse of aggregated personal information.

The Australian Government advises organisations to restrict access to official accounts, train staff, and enforce clear policies on what can be shared. It also highlights the importance of breach response procedures to maintain operational security.

For individuals, the Government guidance recommends limiting exposure of personal data, using privacy settings, avoiding unknown contacts, and applying strong authentication.

Regular updates, careful app permissions, and device security measures are also encouraged to reduce cyber risks.

Strengthening awareness and applying consistent security practices reduces vulnerability and supports more resilient organisational systems in an increasingly interconnected digital environment.

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Corporate AI governance gaps highlighted in UNESCO report

UNESCO and the Thomson Reuters Foundation have published ‘Responsible AI in practice: 2025 global insights from the AI Company Data Initiative‘, presenting findings from what the report describes as the largest global dataset of corporate responsible AI disclosures.

The report analyses 2,972 companies across 11 sectors and multiple regions using publicly available disclosures and company survey responses collected through the AI Company Data Initiative.

The report says AI is being embedded across companies’ products, services, and internal operations faster than governance and disclosure are developing. It states that 43.7% of companies publicly communicate having an AI strategy or guidelines, but only 13% publicly claim adherence to a formal AI governance framework.

Among those that do cite a framework, 53% refer to the EU AI Act, while the report says 43.6% cite ‘other’ frameworks, which it presents as weakening comparability across the wider AI governance ecosystem.

The publication also says many companies describe AI governance in conceptual terms while providing less evidence on operational controls, accountability pathways, monitoring, and remediation. It states that 40% report board- or committee-level oversight on AI, and 12.4% report having a policy to ensure a human oversees AI systems.

At the same time, the publication says 72% of companies do not report conducting any AI-related impact assessment. Of those that do, 11% report environmental impact assessments and 7% report human rights impact assessments. The key statistics on page 10 visually present these findings.

Regarding labour impacts, the report says companies do not provide adequate protection for workers as AI reshapes jobs. It states that while 31% of companies claim to have AI training programmes, only 12% offered structured training with comprehensive coverage. It also argues that effective worker protection requires stronger evidence of reskilling, retraining, redeployment, transition support, and access to remedy where AI affects workers’ rights.

Why does it matter?

The report further states that ethical issues, including human rights and environmental impacts, are being sidelined in AI governance and risk management, while transparency regarding training data, third-party systems, and user rights remains uneven. It presents the AI Company Data Initiative as a tool to help companies assess their governance practices against UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI and to give investors more comparable information on how AI is governed in practice.

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Japan approves APPI amendment bill on personal data, AI training, and fines

Japan’s Cabinet has approved a bill to amend the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, or APPI, for submission to parliament.

The proposed amendments combine stricter enforcement with regulatory easing. They would introduce an administrative fine system, strengthen protections for children’s data and certain biometric data, and allow broader use of personal data for AI training. The bill would also ease some data-breach notification requirements.

Digital Minister of Japan, Hisashi Matsumoto, said enabling the use of sensitive personal data without consent is important for developing domestic AI models. He said the bill seeks to balance that objective with stronger protections for children’s data and facial-recognition data, as well as the introduction of administrative fines.

The fine mechanism would be introduced in a limited form. Provisions to impose fines for large-scale data breaches resulting from inadequate security measures were removed. Instead, the bill would target improper acquisition or use of personal data, unlawful provision of data to third parties, and misuse of sensitive data beyond stated statistical purposes, including transfers to third parties.

According to the proposal, fines would apply in large-scale cases involving more than 1,000 affected individuals, with amounts linked to profits derived from unlawful data handling. During drafting, the Personal Information Protection Commission also dropped plans to introduce consumer class actions for legal redress, while saying it would continue studying the issue.

The Personal Information Protection Commission is seeking passage during the current parliamentary session. The proposal follows a lengthy amendment process, during which earlier plans faced opposition from business and technology groups.

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French data protection authority sets out 2026 GDPR and AI guidance agenda

The French data protection authority, the Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés (CNIL), has outlined the main guidance, consultations, and resources it plans to publish in 2026 to support compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation and certain provisions of the AI Act.

According to the CNIL, the programme is intended to help public and private sector actors prepare for upcoming consultations and anticipate regulatory developments. It says the programme is indicative and may evolve in response to current events.

The CNIL says it will begin work on ‘multi-property’ consent, covering the conditions for obtaining a single consent across several sites or media, particularly where they belong to the same group. It also says it will finalise work on the use of AI in the workplace and in health, including bias risks and safeguards to protect the rights of employees and patients.

The authority also plans to work on transcription and automated analysis tools used in call centres and videoconferencing software, operational content for data protection officers, and clarification of how the GDPR applies to non-anonymous AI models.

In the health sector, it says it will update research reference methodologies, publish its position on how people should be informed when data are reused for research, and issue a consolidated document on the electronic patient record.

On security, the CNIL says it will continue publishing recommendations to improve personal data security, publish the final updated version of its recommendation on remote electronic voting systems, and open public consultations on recommendations covering the security of personal data exchanges, remote identity verification, and end point detection and response services. It also says it will publish a recommendation on web filtering gateways.

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OpenAI launches child safety framework to address AI risks

A new framework has been introduced by OpenAI to address risks of AI-enabled child abuse and strengthen protection mechanisms across digital systems.

An initiative that reflects growing concern over how emerging technologies can both enable and prevent harm.

The blueprint focuses on modernising legal frameworks to address AI-generated harmful content, improving reporting and coordination among service providers, and embedding safety measures directly into AI systems.

These measures aim to enhance early detection and prevent misuse at scale.

Developed in collaboration with organisations such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the Attorney General Alliance, the framework promotes shared standards across industry and public authorities.

It emphasises coordinated responses and stronger accountability mechanisms.

An approach that combines technical safeguards, human oversight, and legal enforcement, aiming to improve response speed and reduce risks before harm occurs.

Ultimately, the initiative highlights the need for continuous adaptation as AI capabilities evolve and reshape online safety challenges.

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ICO launches online privacy campaign for parents

New research published by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found that 24% of primary school-aged children have shared their real name or address online, while 21% of parents and carers have never spoken to them about online privacy. It also found that 22% of children have shared personal information, such as health details, with AI tools.

Research published by the ICO also found that 71% of parents worry that information their child shares today could affect their future. Findings also show that 46% do not feel confident protecting their children’s privacy online, 44% say they try but are not sure they are doing enough, and 42% say they probably do not spend enough time checking privacy settings.

Online privacy is one of the least-discussed online safety topics among parents, according to the ICO. Its research found that 38% discuss it less than once a month, while 90% have discussed screen time in the past month.

Emily Keaney, Deputy Commissioner at the ICO, said: ‘The internet offers amazing opportunities for children – but every click can leave a hidden data trail and these digital footprints can last forever.’ She added: ‘We wouldn’t expect our children to share their birthdays or address with a stranger in a shop, because we’d explain stranger danger to them from a very young age, but kids these days are growing up online.’

Keaney said: ‘We know that where children’s details – like their name, interests and pictures – aren’t protected, the potential risks are serious: unwanted contact from strangers, grooming and radicalisation.’ She said children’s online privacy ‘requires a whole society approach’ and added: ‘We have taken and will continue to take action to hold tech companies accountable for their role.’

Keaney also said: ‘There’s a role for parents too but the problem is that many families have never been shown how to talk to their children about online privacy.’ She added: ‘This is where the ICO comes in. We want parents to feel empowered and children to feel digitally confident, because only then will they be able to start to trust in how their data is used and be part of the whole society solution that is needed for online safety.’

The ICO campaign website outlines three steps for parents: talk regularly with children about online privacy, carefully choose what personal information to share, and check privacy settings on new devices and apps.

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