More rights for individuals to the processing of personal data and their free movement

Individuals could benefit from more rights in the processing of personal data and the free movement of such data.

A draft law to this effect, recently drawn up by the Ministry of Justice with the support of the business community and the National Centre for Personal Data Protection, has been submitted for public consultation. The initiative aims to bring the national legal framework in line with international standards and contributes to the fulfilment of the commitments undertaken by the Republic of Moldova in the process of accession to the European Union.

“The Ministry of Justice is working to fulfil the commitments in the justice sector undertaken by the Republic of Moldova in the process of accession to the EU. The amendment of the regulatory framework in the field of personal data protection is a key and decisive step towards the recognition of the Republic of Moldova as a state, which ensures an equivalent level of personal data protection to that in the EU,” the authors of the project point out.

Thus, the draft law contains provisions that will contribute to strengthening the existing rights of individuals concerned by personal data and new rights have been introduced. These are:

• The right to data portability, which will facilitate the transmission of data from one service provider to another;
• the right to erasure, which will be applicable at times when the individual no longer wishes his or her own data to be processed and there are no longer compelling reasons for their retention;
• the right to know when data security has been breached. In this case, companies and organisations will be obliged to notify the competent supervisory authority of any breach. This will give individuals more control over their personal data.

The draft will also strengthen tools for international data transfers, such as pre-approved standard contractual clauses, binding corporate rules, codes of conduct and certification mechanism. It will also ensure and recognise the right to freedom of expression.

The draft law will transpose the provisions of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and ensure a high level of personal data protection, in strict compliance with EU and Council of Europe legal instruments and international standards.

The draft law, information note, impact assessment act and correlation table can be accessed HERE.