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Data protection & de minimis

27 January 2023 / Roderick Ramage
Issue: 8010 / Categories: Features , Data protection
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Rise of the regulatory monster: Roderick Ramage takes aim at the General Data Protection Regulation

De minimis non curat Lex’ are, apocryphally, the words by which, some 50 years ago, the receptionist of a London branch of Lex Garages turned away me and my beaten-up Mini. More recently in respect of de minimis, in X v Zautoriteit Persoonsgegevens (2022) C-245/20, a decision about an exception for the protection of the independence of the judiciary, the Attorney General observed at paras [59] and [60] that:

‘In this new age, where one finds an endless drive towards increased automation, it seems that almost any aspect of any activity may, sooner or later, be connected to a machine which, increasingly, has its own data processing capabilities. Most of the time, the use of such data will be ancillary or “de minimis”, so that in many cases no “real” processing activity takes place. However, and still, it would appear that neither the nature of the operation (mere transmission versus effective work

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

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Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

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Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

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NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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