Friday, May 7, 2021
A controller refers to the entity that determines the “purposes and means” of how personal data will be processed. Determining the “means” of processing refers to deciding “how” information will be processed.1 That does not necessarily mean, however, that a controller must make every decision with respect to the processing of information.
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) distinguishes between “essential means” and “non-essential means.”2 Essential means refers to those processing decisions that are closely linked to the purpose and the scope of processing and, therefore, considered by the EDPB to be “traditionally and inherently reserved to the controller.”3 In other words, essential means are decisions regarding how personal data will be processed that a controller cannot delegate to a third party. The EDPB has taken the position that one of the essential means of processing that should be decided by a controller is
Software giant vows data processing of EU cloud services to stay in EU, which means that currently.
Lindsay Clark Fri 7 May 2021 // 15:20 UTC Share
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Microsoft has announced plans to ensure data processing of EU cloud services within the borders of the political bloc in a move that expert observers claim reveals problems with the firm s existing setup.
Those problems extend to UK public sector organisations seeking to stick within government guidance as well as a longstanding issue where personal data held in the EU can potentially be accessed via US security laws.
In a blog, Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer, said the software and cloud services giant would, by the end 2022, enable EU customers of Azure, Microsoft 365, and Dynamics 365 to have all their data processed physically within the EU.
Margrethe Vestager is the Executive Vice President of the European Commission, responsible for all things digital. She is also very well known for being the most powerful regulator of big tech in the world. In an exclusive interview, she tells us about the global battle for data, Europe s place in this battle, data sharing, big tech and more.
To watch the full interview with Executive Vice President, Margrethe Vestager, click on the media player above.
Is the European Union in the global battle for data? Why and where are you hoping that this battle will lead?
Margrethe Vestager, European Commission Executive Vice-President responsible for digital:
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EU Policy Blog
Today we are announcing a new pledge for the European Union. If you are a commercial or public sector customer in the EU, we will go beyond our existing data storage commitments and enable you to process and store all your data in the EU. In other words, we will not need to move your data outside the EU. This commitment will apply across all of Microsoft’s core cloud services – Azure, Microsoft 365, and Dynamics 365. We are beginning work immediately on this added step, and we will complete by the end of next year the implementation of all engineering work needed to execute on it. We’re calling this plan the EU Data Boundary for the Microsoft Cloud.