On 7th October, the French Digital Republic Act (“Loi n°2016-1321 pour une République numérique“) came into. This law introduces new provisions that will regulate the digital economy as a whole. For privacy professionals, this law is important as it introduces several key amendments under the French Data Protection Act of 1978 and other laws, prior to the GDPR’s entry into force in 2018.
With the Digital Republic Act, France has sent a clear message that it is taking personal data protection very seriously. This new law also shows that even though the GDPR establishes a harmonised data protection regime across Europe, EU member states can nonetheless adopt additional or more restrictive data protection rules.
