IAPP Updated CIPP-E Exam Questions and Answers by atlas

The EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) is a proposed regulation that aims to establish harmonised rules on the development and use of artificial intelligence in the EU. The AI Act classifies AI systems according to their level of risk and imposes various requirements and obligations on providers and users of such systems. The AI Act also provides for the enforcement of its rules by national competent authorities and the European Commission. According to Article 71 of the AI Act, the sanctions for non-compliance with the AI Act depend on the type and severity of the infringement. The maximum fine for the most serious infringements, such as placing on the market or putting into service prohibited AI systems, or failing to comply with the data and data governance requirements for high-risk AI systems, is the higher of up to 30 million Euro or up to 6% of the total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year of the legal entity concerned. This is the same level of fine as for the most serious infringements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

References:

•EUR-Lex - 52021PC0206 - EN - EUR-Lex1

•European Parliament Adopts Negotiating Position on the AI Act2

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) does not prohibit surveillance of employees in the workplace. Still, it requires employers to follow special rules to ensure that the rights and freedoms of employees are protected when processing their personal data. The GDPR applies to any processing of personal data in the context of the activities of an establishment of a controller or a processor in the EU, regardless of whether the processing takes place in the EU or not. The GDPR also applies to the processing of personal data of data subjects who are in the EU by a controller or processor not established in the EU, where the processing activities are related to the offering of goods or services to data subjects in the EU or the monitoring of their behaviour as far as their behaviour takes place within the EU.

The GDPR requires that any processing of personal data must be lawful, fair and transparent, and based on one of the six legal grounds specified in the regulation. The most relevant legal grounds for employee surveillance are the legitimate interests of the employer, the performance of a contract with the employee, or the compliance with a legal obligation. The GDPR also requires that any processing of personal data must be limited to what is necessary for the purposes for which they are processed, and that the data subjects must be informed of the purposes and the legal basis of the processing, as well as their rights and the safeguards in place to protect their data.

The GDPR also imposes specific obligations and restrictions on the processing of special categories of personal data, such as biometric data, which reveal racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, or which are processed for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person. The processing of such data is prohibited, unless one of the ten exceptions listed in the regulation applies. The most relevant exceptions for employee surveillance are the explicit consent of the data subject, the necessity for the purposes of carrying out the obligations and exercising specific rights of the controller or of the data subject in the field of employment and social security and social protection law, or the necessity for reasons of substantial public interest.

The GDPR also sets out the rules and requirements for the transfer of personal data to third countries or international organisations, which do not ensure an adequate level of data protection. The transfer of such data is only allowed if the controller or processor has provided appropriate safeguards, such as binding corporate rules, standard contractual clauses, codes of conduct or certification mechanisms, and if the data subjects have enforceable rights and effective legal remedies.

Based on the scenario, the only condition under which the surveillance system could be used on the personal devices of employees is if the employees give valid consent and the monitoring is narrowly limited to their professional tasks. This option is the most consistent with the GDPR’s principles and requirements, as it:

Is based on a valid legal ground for the processing of personal data, namely the consent of the data subject, which must be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous, and which can be withdrawn at any time.

Is limited to what is necessary for the purposes of the monitoring, as it only covers the work-related activities and communications of the employees, and excludes the private or personal ones.

Is transparent to the employees, as it informs them of the monitoring and its precise scope, and gives them the opportunity to object or opt out of the monitoring.

Does not involve the processing of special categories of personal data, such as biometric data or data revealing political opinions or trade union membership, which are not necessary or proportionate for the purposes of the monitoring, and which do not fall under any of the exceptions listed in the regulation.

Does not involve the transfer of personal data to a third country, such as China, which does not provide an adequate level of data protection, and which may pose additional risks for the rights and freedoms of the employees.

The other options listed in the question are not valid conditions for using the surveillance system on the personal devices of employees, as they:

Are not based on a valid legal ground for the processing of personal data, as they either rely on the legitimate interests of the employer, which are not balanced with the rights and freedoms of the employees, or on the compliance with a legal obligation, which does not apply to the use of personal devices.

Are not limited to what is necessary for the purposes of the monitoring, as they involve the collection and processing of excessive and irrelevant personal data, such as camera and microphone monitoring, screen captures, keystrokes, and facial recognition data, which go beyond the scope of the work performed by the employees, and intrude into their private or personal sphere.

Are not transparent to the employees, as they do not inform them of the monitoring and its precise scope, and do not give them the opportunity to object or opt out of the monitoring.

Involve the processing of special categories of personal data, such as biometric data or data revealing political opinions or trade union membership, which are not necessary or proportionate for the purposes of the monitoring, and which do not fall under any of the exceptions listed in the regulation.

Involve the transfer of personal data to a third country, such as China, which does not provide an adequate level of data protection, and which may pose additional risks for the rights and freedoms of the employees.

References:

GDPR, Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, and 49.

EDPB Guidelines 3/2019 on processing of personal data through video devices, pages 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14.

EDPB Guidelines 07/2020 on the concepts of controller and processor in the GDPR, pages 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28.

EDPB Guidelines 4/2019 on Article 25 Data Protection by Design and by Default, pages 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28.

EDPB Guidelines 2/2018 on derogations of Article 49 under Regulation 2016/679, pages 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.

Data protection: GDPR and employee surveilance | Feature | Law Gazette, paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

According to Article 21 of the GDPR, the data subject has the right to object at any time to the processing of his or her personal data for direct marketing purposes, which includes profiling related to such marketing. When the data subject exercises this right, the controller must stop processing the personal data for that purpose, unless it can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing that override the interests, rights, and freedoms of the data subject, or for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims. The controller must also inform the data subject of this right before the first communication with him or her, and in a clear and separate manner from other information. The controller must also provide the data subject with a simple and effective way to opt out of receiving direct marketing communications, such as an unsubscribe link or a STOP text message. The controller must respect the data subject’s choice and refrain from sending any further direct marketing messages of the relevant type (e.g., email, phone, post, etc.) to the data subject, unless he or she opts in again. The controller does not need to delete the personal data of the data subject who opts out, unless the data subject also requests the erasure of his or her data under Article 17 of the GDPR, or the data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected or processed. The controller may also retain some minimal information about the data subject (such as name and email address) to ensure that his or her opt-out request is honored and that he or she is not contacted again for direct marketing purposes. The controller must also ensure that any third parties to whom it has disclosed the personal data of the data subject for direct marketing purposes are informed of the opt-out request and comply with it, unless this proves impossible or involves disproportionate effort. References: Direct marketing rules and exceptions under the GDPR, Direct marketing and privacy and electronic communications, Marketing and advertising: the law: Direct marketing, Direct Marketing - What you need to know about direct marketing

Data adjustment is not a valid basic anonymization technique according to the PDPC’s guide12. Data adjustment refers to the modification of the original data values by adding or subtracting a random amount, or multiplying or dividing by a random factor3. This technique may preserve some statistical properties of the data, but it also introduces errors and inaccuracies that may affect the utility and quality of the data3. Moreover, data adjustment may not sufficiently protect the identity of individuals, as the adjusted data may still be linked or matched with other data sources3. Therefore, data adjustment is not recommended by the PDPC as a basic anonymization technique.

References:

1: GUIDE TO BASIC DATA ANONYMISATION TECHNIQUES Published 25 January 2018 - PDPC 2: GUIDE TO BASIC ANONYMISATION - PDPC 3: Guide to basic anonymisation and free tool from PDPC