The GDPR : one year on

Today marks the first anniversary of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR) coming into force. From news about Amazon’s Alexa listening to our private conversations to facial recognition cameras installed in airports and taxis, the year since has been a steady drip of revelations about the data collection practices of big tech firms and breaches that have exposed the personal information of millions of data subjects.  Behind the scenes though, reaction to the GDPR has been quite different. Businesses have struggled to come to terms with their obligations under the new law, while others have failed to conduct proper balancing tests between competing rights. National data protection authorities have been overwhelmed with complaints, queries, investigations, and enforcement proceedings. Opaque guidance from the regulator has not exactly made implementation easy.