Passing of the French Law SREN
04 July 2024
The French law on securing and regulating the digital environment (“SREN”) was officially passed on 21 May 2024 and published in the Official Journal dated 22 May 2024, representing a major legislative step towards strengthening the security and regulation of technology and online spaces in France. It marks a significant advancement in safeguarding digital environments and ensuring responsible digital governance in France and introduces the following key provisions:
1. Heightened protection for citizens, especially minors, from new online threats:
2. Pre-enacts EU Data Act provisions for cloud computing services.
3. Establishes a national coordination network for the regulation of digital services (including the Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control and the Directorate-General for Enterprise) to ensure a global and coherent vision of regulation.
4. Implements new powers for national regulatory authorities under the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act:
5. Strengthens users’ rights and personal data protections
6. Regulates online advertising, requiring platforms to ensure transparency regarding the origin and nature of displayed advertisements.
7. Regulates games with monetisable digital objects for a three-year experimental period, aiming to prevent the risks of fraud, money laundering and exploitation of players.
CNIL appointed as France's competent authority for data altruism under the European Data Governance Act
On 21 June 2024, the CNIL publicly announced its appointment as France's designated authority for data altruism, effective since the implementation of the French law SREN on 21 May 2024, under Article 23 of the European Data Governance Regulation.
"Data altruism", defined by the CNIL, involves the voluntary sharing of data with the consent of data subjects or authorisation from data holders, without financial compensation beyond covering associated costs. The CNIL:
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