newtech.law - legal aspects of new technologies

At a meeting summarising public consultations on a bill implementing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Poland, the Ministry of Digital Affairs confirmed that during legislative work a change was approved providing for major exceptions to the GDPR. This change was proposed in October 2017 by the Ministry of Development. This proposed exception is an interesting example of how hard it can be to draft legislation properly aligned to the needs of a digital economy.

On many occasions we have predicted that cryptocurrencies will soon become subject to Anti Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations.

This became clear in July 2016 when the European Commission announced that it will impose new regulations and presented its proposed changes. (Coming soon: A legal definition of virtual currencies).

In our 2014 Virtual currency report we analysed the anticipated impact of the potential regulations on the cryptocurrency market and discussed the subject again in 2015’s  Bitcoin and money-laundering regulations article. We have also brought attention to the subject during industry conferences and meetups.

Currently, legislative work on these regulations is nearing the end, both at the EU-level and in Poland. Below, we take a look at what the nearly-ready rules will contain and their practical impact.

As we discuss in another article, legislation extending the coverage of anti-money laundering/combating financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations to include cryptocurrencies is already at an advanced stage in Poland and at the EU level.

Two simultaneously published articles discuss soon to be proposed rules for applying Anti Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations to cryptocurrencies (and potentially tokens). The first article describes key changes expected in the proposal, the second analyses the proposed new definition of ‘virtual currency’ and its anticipated practical impact.

While the market is captivated by initial coin offerings as they continue to attract dizzying returns on invested capital, the capabilities of blockchain technology reach much further. Indeed, some blockchain solutions currently in development or already available throw into question the sense of existing financial regulations.

Two new documents were issued in December 2017 by the EU’s Article 29 Data Protection Working Party explaining how to interpret and apply the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation on the consent that must be obtained from data subjects and the information that must be provided to data subjects for processing their data. The Guidelines on Consent under Regulation 2016/679 and the Guidelines on Transparency under Regulation 2016/679 demonstrate that the era of lengthy, fine-print terms and conditions is over. Data controllers will achieve better compliance with the GDPR by using brief and easily understood FAQ and notices.