Which authorities guarantee the protection of personal data in France?
Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2024 6:00 am
The protection of personal data is one of the major challenges of our time. It is very important to know who to contact in the event of a violation of our rights. In France, several authorities are responsible for protecting personal data (name, surname, postal address, social security number, etc.). Each has different responsibilities and areas of intervention.
The National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties (CNIL)
What is the CNIL?
The CNIL was established by the Data Protection overseas chinese in australia data Act of 6 January 1978. It ensures the protection of personal data contained in computer files or on paper, whether public or private. Its aim is to ensure that information technology does not harm:
To human identity;
human rights ;
the private video;
Public, individual and collective freedoms.
This independent administrative authority (IAA) is composed of 18 elected or appointed members.
What are the CNIL's missions for protecting personal data?
The CNIL has four main missions .
Inform, protect rights
One of the main missions of the CNIL is to respond to requests from individuals and companies. At the same time, it carries out communication actions aimed at the general public through the press, its website and social networks. It collects complaints from citizens concerning:
Online reputation, with requests to remove content from the web;
Commerce, such as opting out of receiving commercial emails;
Human resources (HR), in relation to video surveillance or geolocation of employee vehicles;
The bank and loans, where the complaint may be related to the inclusion in one of the files of the Bank of France.
Accompanying/advising in compliance
The CNIL helps public and private actors comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It provides them with tools adapted to their size and needs. The independent authority also carries out advisory and regulatory activities. For example, it issues its opinion on draft texts relating to the protection of personal data.
Anticipate and innovate
The National Commission on Information Technology and Civil Liberties contributes to generating a debate on the ethical challenges of data through:
Its digital innovation laboratory, known as LINC;
The Prospective Committee;
The CNIL-INRIA European Prize;
Privacy Research Day, a major academic conference on data protection.
Control and sanction
The CNIL has the right to monitor public and private organisations. If it finds breaches, it can warn or sanction these organisations. In 2022, the authority carried out 345 checks and 147 were sanctioned. Among the sanction procedures, we find:
The ordinary sanction procedure, with fines of up to 20 million euros;
The simplified sanction procedure, reserved for less complex or low-serious cases.
What is the role of the CNIL?
The CNIL plays the role of personal data regulator in the digital environment. It supports companies in their regulatory compliance and helps individuals exercise their rights. Let us remember that the people whose data is collected have several rights:
The right to access data at any time, without restrictions;
The right to rectification of stored data and the right to object to its use;
The right to portability , which allows the data provided to be retrieved and transferred to a third party;
The right to be forgotten , which involves the deletion and deindexing of data;
The right to be notified in the event of a data security breach;
The right to compensation for damages, whether material or moral, in the event of a violation of the GDPR;
Right to file a complaint or seek redress through class action .
The National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties (CNIL)
What is the CNIL?
The CNIL was established by the Data Protection overseas chinese in australia data Act of 6 January 1978. It ensures the protection of personal data contained in computer files or on paper, whether public or private. Its aim is to ensure that information technology does not harm:
To human identity;
human rights ;
the private video;
Public, individual and collective freedoms.
This independent administrative authority (IAA) is composed of 18 elected or appointed members.
What are the CNIL's missions for protecting personal data?
The CNIL has four main missions .
Inform, protect rights
One of the main missions of the CNIL is to respond to requests from individuals and companies. At the same time, it carries out communication actions aimed at the general public through the press, its website and social networks. It collects complaints from citizens concerning:
Online reputation, with requests to remove content from the web;
Commerce, such as opting out of receiving commercial emails;
Human resources (HR), in relation to video surveillance or geolocation of employee vehicles;
The bank and loans, where the complaint may be related to the inclusion in one of the files of the Bank of France.
Accompanying/advising in compliance
The CNIL helps public and private actors comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It provides them with tools adapted to their size and needs. The independent authority also carries out advisory and regulatory activities. For example, it issues its opinion on draft texts relating to the protection of personal data.
Anticipate and innovate
The National Commission on Information Technology and Civil Liberties contributes to generating a debate on the ethical challenges of data through:
Its digital innovation laboratory, known as LINC;
The Prospective Committee;
The CNIL-INRIA European Prize;
Privacy Research Day, a major academic conference on data protection.
Control and sanction
The CNIL has the right to monitor public and private organisations. If it finds breaches, it can warn or sanction these organisations. In 2022, the authority carried out 345 checks and 147 were sanctioned. Among the sanction procedures, we find:
The ordinary sanction procedure, with fines of up to 20 million euros;
The simplified sanction procedure, reserved for less complex or low-serious cases.
What is the role of the CNIL?
The CNIL plays the role of personal data regulator in the digital environment. It supports companies in their regulatory compliance and helps individuals exercise their rights. Let us remember that the people whose data is collected have several rights:
The right to access data at any time, without restrictions;
The right to rectification of stored data and the right to object to its use;
The right to portability , which allows the data provided to be retrieved and transferred to a third party;
The right to be forgotten , which involves the deletion and deindexing of data;
The right to be notified in the event of a data security breach;
The right to compensation for damages, whether material or moral, in the event of a violation of the GDPR;
Right to file a complaint or seek redress through class action .