Processing of personal data has increased exponentially with the rise of social media, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, services using geo-tracking and chip cards. Data protection issues, including their cross-border dimension, are forever present in citizens’ lives – at work, in their relations with public authorities, in the health field, when they buy goods or services, when they travel or surf the internet. Nevertheless, sometimes European citizens tend to be unfamiliar with data protection issues and unaware of their rights in this respect.

11th Data Protection Day

On 26 April 2006, the Council of Europe, with the support of the European Commission, decided to launch a Data Protection Day, to be celebrated each year on 28 January. The goal is to raise awareness on data protection and inform citizens of their rights and of good practices, thereby enabling them to exercise these rights more effectively.

Why the 28 January? This date corresponds with the anniversary of the opening for signature of the Council of Europe's Convention 108 for the Protection of individuals with regard to automatic processing of personal data which has been for over 35 years a cornerstone of data protection, in Europe and beyond.

Animated videos on the future General Data Protection Regulation

The data protection rules of the EU and Luxembourg – which have been inspired by the “Convention 108” – have been modernized in order to account for the effects of globalisation and the emergence of new technologies.

From 25 May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation will be applicable to all actors operating in the EU. The new rules are aimed at strengthening citizens’ control of their personal data, the role of national data protection authorities such as the CNPD, as well as reinforcing companies’ accountability while at the same time reducing onerous reporting obligations.

In the context of the Data Protection Day, the CNPD publishes three animated videos presenting the important changes the citizens, companies and public authorities have to prepare for.

New complaint form

The CNPD also launches a new complaint form intended to facilitate both the submission of a complaint by a data subject as well as the handling thereof by the data protection authority. Many citizens contact the CNPD if they believe there has been a violation of the law or if they face problems when trying to exercise their rights. The use of this online form allows the CNPD to process complaints more swiftly.