On 1 April 2019 the Hungarian Parliament adopted a new act on the amendments necessary for the implementation of the European Union’s data protection reform (“Data Protection Reform Act”). The new act has a comprehensive nature, as it aims to finalise the implantation of the data protection reform in the affected (more than 80) sectoral laws.
The Data Protection Reform Act’s objective is to ensure legal coherence necessary for the implantation of the GDPR in Hungary. Due to the fact that the Hungarian Information Act only regulates the general rules of data protection, particular data protection provisions are regulated by sectoral laws. Therefore, it has become necessary to review the provisions of such particular data protection rules, in particularly where there is any contradiction to the GDPR.
The Data Protection Reform Act amended amongst others the provisions of the Hungarian Labour Code on the data processing of the employees, the data protection aspects of the whistleblowing system and the provisions of the act on security services and activities (regulating the use of electronic surveillance and access control systems).
The Data Protection Reform Act may present new challenges for data controllers who must ensure that their data processing are in line with the requirements of the new regulations. Substantial parts of the provisions of the Data Protection Reform Act entered into force on 26 April 2019.
By Rita Parkanyi, Partner, KCG Partners Law Firm
