Liechtenstein is one of the microstates in Europe that is part of the European Economic Area, the Schengen Area although it is not a member of the EU. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which entered into force in May this year, is also applicable in Liechtenstein as it is in Austria and the rest of the EU.
The GDPR applies to data controllers and processors in the EU but also contains extra-territorial provisions. Our team of lawyers in Liechtenstein is ready to assist you with special legal services and counseling in all matters related to personal data processing for companies in the country.
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The scope of the GDPR
The GDPR allows for better control over the data that is shared and how this process takes place. Companies in Liechtenstein and in the rest of the EU, as well as non-EU companies that have clients in the Union and process their personal and/or sensitive data, must comply with the six principles for data quality. At the same time, personal data processing is also subject to several other conditions, among which the consent of the subject is of extreme importance.
A noticeable change that is brought by the GDPR is that the fines for non-compliance are significant. The regime demands that fines of up to 4% of the company’s annual worldwide turnover or 20 million euros (whichever amount is larger) can be forced upon those corporations that do not observe these new data privacy principles. Our team of attorneys in Liechtenstein can help you with information on the fines but also on the powers of the subjects in those cases when they make claims for material and non-material compensations.
Legal requirements for implementation
The experts at our law firm in Liechtenstein can help you with a number of legal services that target the lawful implementation of these new data protection practices. For this purpose, we can help you with the following:
- • Formalities for collecting personal data: our lawyers can help you obtain consent according to the new GDPR rules.
- • Obtaining and processing sensitive data: sensitive data is a special category of information about an individual’s political, sexual and religious references that may only be processed under certain circumstances.
- • Accountability compliance: our attorneys can help you satisfy the new rules for proving that the Liechtenstein company duly observes the new rules.
- • Privacy impact assessment: we can help you conduct this assessment when high-risk data processing is necessary, for example when processing sensitive data on a larger scale.
- • Observing the legal rights of data subjects: our team can help you make sure that you observe the key rights granted to data subjects under the GDPR such as privacy notices, the right to access information, to object to direct marketing and others.
For more information about the laws for data protection as well as other legal issues, please do not hesitate to contact our lawyers in Liechtenstein.