The European Data Protection Board (EDPB), responsible for coordinating compliance with the RODO in the EU, has announced a number of initiatives to facilitate compliance, especially for micro, small and medium-sized companies. Although the General Data Protection Regulation has been in force since 2018, many organisations still struggle with its practical interpretation – especially in crisis situations such as data breaches.
At a recent summit in Helsinki, the EDPB initiated work on ready-made data breach notification templates to facilitate reporting of incidents to national supervisory authorities. Also planned are checklists, manuals and FAQ sections – tools aimed at bridging the gap between the complexity of regulations and the day-to-day operational realities of companies.
This can be particularly important for the SME sector, which often does not have its own compliance team or data protection lawyer. In practice, this means that organisations still too often respond to incidents in a haphazard manner – not knowing what they should report, to whom and when.
In parallel, the EDPB announces efforts for greater consistency in enforcement between EU countries. Although RODO as a piece of legislation applies across the EU, its interpretation and enforcement sometimes diverge. Common guidelines, the participation of national regulators in the EDPB’s work and the sharing of experiences from proceedings are expected to bring national approaches closer together.
From a business perspective, this means an opportunity for a more predictable regulatory environment – especially in the context of the growing number of cross-border digital services. The EDPB wants member states to agree common positions more quickly on matters of strategic importance, and published rulings and interpretations to be more practical for businesses.
These solutions may take months to implement, but the direction of change is clear: less formalism, more practice and better cooperation between regulators. In an era of widespread digitalisation, this is a move in the right direction.