The mission of the French data protection authority—the Commission Nationale Informatique et Libertés (CNIL)—is “to protect personal data, support innovation, [and] preserve individual liberties.”

In addition to its general inspections, every year the CNIL establishes a different targeted-inspection program. This program identifies the specific areas that CNIL’s controls will concentrate on for the following year. The 2014 inspection program was focused on everyday life devices, such as online payment, online tax payment and dating websites, among other things.

On May 25, 2015, the CNIL announced its 2015 inspection program and identified a focus on six issues in particular: contactless payment, Driving Licenses National File (Le Fichier National des Permis de Conduire), the “well-being and health” connected devices, monitoring tools used for attendance in public places, the treatment of personal data during evaluation of psychosocial risks and the Binding Corporate Rules.

The last two issues caught our attention:

• Treatment of personal data during evaluation of psychosocial risks: Since 2008, many companies have been investigating psychosocial risks within the workplace in order to provide a more stress-free environment. This practice, however, raises issues concerning the employee’s right not to share private information with the employer. The CNIL will try to identify which prior investigations may have jeopardized (or may still be jeopardizing) the employee’s rights to privacy.
• Binding Corporate Rules: Companies seeking to export data outside of the European Union (EU) may adopt a voluntary set of data-protection rules within their corporate group called Binding Corporate Rules (BCR). These BCRs are intended to provide a level of privacy and data protection within the entire corporate group equivalent to the one found under EU law. So far, 68 companies have adopted BCRs. Through its 2015 inspection program, the CNIL wants to give the BCRs a closer look, making sure that the means and devices used are in compliance with French law.

In addition to focusing its 2015 inspection program on BCR compliance, the CNIL also announced, earlier this year, the simplification of intra-group data transfers. Prior to simplification, companies whose BCRs had been approved by the CNIL were also required to obtain the CNIL’s approval for each new type of transfer. The CNIL has since declared that a new, personalized “single decision” will be given to companies with approved BCRs. In return, the companies must keep an internal record of all transfers detailing certain information (the general purpose of each transfer based on the BCR; the category of data subjects concerned by the transfer; the categories of personal data transferred; and information on each data recipient) in accordance with the terms of the single decision issued.

With respect to its targeted inspection program, the question still remains: How many inspections will the CNIL conduct in 2015? In 2014, the CNIL performed a total number of 421 inspections. The CNIL declares that, in 2015, the objective is to achieve 550 inspections. However, only 28 percent of the CNIL’s inspections typically result from the annual inspection program. Forty percent are initiated by the [...]

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