The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) met for its fourth plenary session on 16 November 2018. The session covered many areas of discussion, outlined in the session's agenda.

The EDPB published a press release, highlighting the three main areas of discussion.

  1. EU-Japan draft adequacy decision. The EDPB discussed the draft adequacy decision, which it received in September from Commissioner Věra Jourová. The EDPB believes in guaranteeing a high level of data protection for transfers from the European Union to Japan.
  2. The interplay between the General Data Protection Regulation and the Clinical Trials Regulation. The EDPB has agreed to provide guidance on the interplay between the General Data Protection Regulation 2017/679 (GDPR) and the Clinical Trials Regulation. This will feed into the European Commission's draft Clinical Trials Questions and Answers guidance.
  3. Guidelines on territorial scope. The EDPB aims to provide a common interpretation of the GDPR's territorial scope, in particular where a party is established outside of the EU. In September, the EDPB adopted new draft guidelines that address this and were discussed further during the November session. The guidelines were published by the EDPB on 23 November 2018.

The next plenary session is due to take place on 4 and 5 December 2018.

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