Q&A: EU Privacy Regulations

As a consequence of increasing global commerce, security and risk (S&R) professionals face the complexity of navigating data privacy regulations from around the world. Forrester clients frequently ask about European Union (EU) privacy regulations. While data protection requirements in the US are commonly industry-centric, those in the EU focus more broadly on the individual's right to privacy regardless of industry. This leads to a number of differences in how firms handle employee and customer data in the EU as opposed to the US, especially when transferring data between countries of varying regulatory standards. This report is an update to the report of the same name published on September 16, 2011 as part of Forrester's commitment to keep our clients up to date on the rapid pace of privacy regulation reform and its impact on business. In this report, we address common data privacy questions and highlight upcoming changes in the regulations that have the most impact on firms operating on a global scale.