At its 48^th Plenary Session on 14 April 2021, as well as adopting two Opinions on the European Commission’s draft adequacy decisions in respect of transfers of personal data from the EU to the UK (see item above), the EDPB also adopted a final version of the Guidelines on the targeting of social media users following public consultation. The aim of the Guidelines is to clarify the roles and responsibilities of social media providers and targeted individuals. The final version integrates updated wording in order to address comments and feedback received during the public consultation.

At the same meeting, the EDPB adopted Guidelines on the application of Article 65(1)(a) GDPR (which covers the concept of relevant and reasoned objection by a supervisory authority to the lead supervisory authority) to delineate the main stages of the procedure and clarify the competence of the EDPB when adopting a legally binding decision on the basis of Article 65(1)(a) GDPR. The Guidelines also include a description of the applicable procedural safeguards and remedies. The Guidelines will be subject to public consultation for a period of six weeks.

Finally, the EDPB adopted a Statement on international agreements, including transfers. The EDPB invites EU Member States to assess and, where necessary, review their international agreements that involve international transfers of personal data and which were concluded before 24 May 2016 (for those relevant to the GDPR) and 6 May 2016 (for those relevant to the LED) to align them, where necessary, with EU data protection law. To read the EDPB’s press release in full, click here. To access the Guidelines on Article 65(1)(a), click here. To access the Statement, click here. The Guidelines on targeting social media users are not yet available on the EDPB website.