EU Data Protection Regulation: One Stop Shop Mechanism

It’s been a long time since the data protection reforms were announced by the European Commission but this year we’ve seen the ruling bodies in Europe take some significant steps forward on the matter. One of which is the partial agreement on the one stop shop mechanism and here’s what you need to know about it.

What is the one stop shop mechanism?

At the moment a business can be forced to answer to any data protection authority (DPA) in any of the EU countries they trade in. This can result in numerous investigations led by different DPAs leading to many conclusions, often differing to each other, and different enforcement measures.

The one stop shop mechanism is designed to simplify data protection in the EU, make the application of the law more consistent and make cross-border enforcement easier. It would introduce a new framework to stop businesses from having to engage with multiple DPAs across Europe. Instead, they would only have to answer to one DPA, the one in which their main establishment is. However, if the issue being investigated involves citizens from a number of jurisdictions the DPAs that govern that jurisdiction will have the ability to have their say in those cases.

Why is it needed?

The one stop shop mechanism is just one part of the proposed Data Protection Regulation but it is there to help harmonise data protection across Europe. This proposal is a step in the right direction for data protection across Europe. The one stop shop aims to create harmony across Europe by way of decisions made by individual DPAs in each Member State. What the one stop shop mechanism proposes to do is help provide legal certainty on issues surrounding data protection. We will see one definitive decision on specific issues rather than, as it is now, multiple often contrasting decisions about the same issue which causes confusion for businesses across Europe.

Moving forward

What we need to remember is that the one stop shop mechanism is just one part of the proposed Data Protection Regulation, there to help harmonise data protection across Europe. There is not much we, as email marketers, can do to prepare for the one stop shop mechanism as a stand-alone proposal. What we can do however, is aim to prepare for the Regulation as a whole and by doing this you will be preparing yourself for the one stop shop mechanism too.

In order to prepare you can check out Communicator Corps EU Data Protection Guide series and also check out our blog where you will find steps 1, 2 and 3 to help you prepare for the ne EU changes.