The Act Now EU GDPR Handbook

As a result of Brexit, Europe now has two primary sources of data protection law.

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) became enforceable on 25th May 2018 and applies primarily to personal data processed in the European Union. Following its exit from the EU, the United Kingdom’s own version of the GDPR, known as the “UK GDPR”, came into force on 1^st January 2021.

Both versions of GDPR have an extra territorial effect in that personal data processed outside their jurisdiction is still regulated by them, if the processing is related to offering goods or services or to monitoring the behaviour of EU/UK residents (Article 3).  

The official publication of the EU GDPR contains 99 Articles and 173 Recitals. The Recitals further expand on the topics covered in the Articles. However, as the Recitals are placed at the start of the official publication it can be difficult to navigate the legislation.

This EU GDPR Handbook is laid out in a more logical and easier to read manner by helpfully placing all the Recitals (in blue) under their corresponding Articles. This saves the reader time and effort in cross-referencing and leads to a more natural reading of the legislation.

In addition, under each Article we have included signposts to:                                                   

• Official guidance issued by the Article 29 Working Party (A29WP) and the European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
• The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance
• Relevant UK court cases

Data protection practitioners and legal advisers working for Data Controllers and Processors within the EU as well organisations who are caught by the extra territorial provisions of the EU GDPR will find this handbook of great benefit in their day to day work.