On 17 November 2020, the European Data Protection Supervisor (“EDPS”) published Preliminary Opinion 8/2020 on the European Health Data Space (“EHDS”).
This preliminary opinion highlights the essential elements that should be considered in the development of the EHDS from the data protection perspective.
In particular, the EDPS highlights that due to the sensitivity of the data to be processed within the EHDS, the boundaries of what constitutes lawful processing and compatible further processing must be crystal-clear for all the stakeholders involved, recalling that the processing operations under the EHDS must comply with both Articles 6 (1) and 9 of the GDPR.
Moreover, the EDPS calls on the Commission to ensure that the data exporters taking part in the EHDS ensure full compliance with the transfer rules of the GDPR, as interpreted by the CJEU Schrems II ruling.
Furthermore, the EDPS calls on the Member States to guarantee the effective implementation of the right to data portability specifically in the EHDS, together with the development of the necessary technical requirements.
The press release is available here, and the opinion is available here.
