A draft Federal Law (hereinafter referred to as the draft law) amending Federal Law No. 152-FZ of July 27, 2006 “On Personal Data” has been submitted to the State Duma for consideration.

The draft law is elaborated in order to strengthen the protection of the rights of citizens as personal data subjects in the process of trans-border transfer of their personal data, it provides for the clarification of the criteria by which foreign countries are included in the list of states providing appropriate protection of personal data.

As stated in the explanatory note to the draft law, in case of trans-border transfer of personal data of Russian citizens, the protection of their rights is carried out by foreign authorized bodies in the field of personal data protection. However, as the analysis of the current situation shows, foreign authorized bodies do not always take measures to restore the violated rights and legitimate interests, which is a violation of the fundamental principles of personal data protection laid down in the 1981 Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (hereinafter – the Convention). At the same time, the legal regulation in the respective states, unlike the law enforcement practice of their competent authorities, from a formal point of view, may not contradict the provisions of the Convention.

The draft law specifies that when the authorized body for the protection of the rights of personal data subjects approves the list of foreign states ensuring adequate protection of the rights of personal data subjects, it takes into account not only the existence of a legal regulation in the field of personal data, compliant with the provisions of the Convention, but also the actual adoption of effective measures to comply with the fundamental principles of protection, confidentiality and security of personal data during their processing.

The adoption of the bill will make it possible to increase the level of protection of personal data of citizens of the Russian Federation during their cross-border transmission and to strengthen measures to combat cyber threats.

Document: https://sozd.duma.gov.ru/bill/951518-8

Draft law № 951518-8