Our highlight was definitely hosting the panel on "Exploring UK – EU Regulatory Synergies: Road Towards Harmonized Privacy Standards." The session, which was moderated by our Managing Director, Gabriela Mercuri, and had as panelists Thomas Nietsch (K&L Gates), Fabrizio Venturelli (Workday), and Elaine Yeo-Suares (Salesforce), delved into the intricate landscape of data protection compliance and the role of standardization in this particular context. Against this backdrop, speakers gave an overview of the biggest obstacles they have encountered in the process of practically implementing GDPR as well as of their subsequent actions to tackle those challenges. One of the key measures taken by the cloud industry was the initiative to develop a code of conduct pursuant Article 40 GDPR, namely, the EU Cloud CoC. Considering their first-hand experience in in the drafting, negotiation, approval and operationalization of the first tool of its kind to become operational, the discussion brought several insights on the benefits as well as the difficulties to bring a code of conduct to life.
Another remarkable discussion was held during the session entitled "The Silver Lining: How to Navigate Privacy and the Cloud". The panel promoted a deep dive into how the cloud industry operationalizes data protection and cybersecurity requirements on a daily basis. In this context, Nathaly Rey (Google) and Lorelien Hoet (Microsoft) have emphasized how effective industry standards such as the EU Cloud CoC can have a crucial impact in optimizing cloud compliance.
It was also great to follow the session "Building Trust with Codes of Conduct as Privacy Seals," where panelists gave a detailed overview on the requirements to establish these tools, the road to approval and the current state of play when it comes to their dissemination across the EU. In this context, Fabrizio Venturelli shared valuable insights about adhering to an approved code of conduct while highlighting the specific role of monitoring bodies. It was an enriching discussion on building trust by effectively demonstrating compliance.
As an organization dedicated to the development and implementation of workable compliance tools, SCOPE Europe was delighted to witness the growing awareness and interest in co-regulation throughout the conference. We highly look forward to the next opportunities to discuss these instruments and to continually work on their optimization and dissemination within and beyond the cloud environment.
