Data protection is hot in Europe. On 27 January a joint statement was made by Vice-President Ansip and Commissioner Jourová ahead of the 2017 Data Protection day. Quotation:

The digital economy is global, and when Europeans’ personal data are transferred abroad, the protection travels with it. In August last year, we launched the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield to better protect personal data transferred across the Atlantic, while ensuring legal certainty for businesses. Now, over 1700 companies have signed up to the Privacy Shield, with 700 further applications in the pipeline. We will continue to promote our data protection values at international level. This is why we will actively engage with key partners, such as Japan and South Korea, to reach adequacy decisions.

As criminals know no borders, also data exchanges between police and judicial authorities across Europe and with our international partners must be underpinned by strong data protection standards. Inside the EU, the new Police Directive will facilitate exchanges to prevent cross-border crime and guarantee that personal data is protected. At the international level, the EU-U.S. Umbrella Agreement that will enter into force on 1 February 2017 will guarantee a high level of protection for EU citizens’ personal data when transferred to U.S. judicial and police authorities. All EU citizens will also have the right to enforce their data protection rights in U.S. courts.

More information in the full text on the EU site.

Guidelines for SMEs on the security of personal data processing

Another European entity, European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA), published guidelines for SMEs on the security of personal data processing (announcement, guidelines, pdf).