• by Ray Schultz , June 26, 2018

U.S. financial regulators -- including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission -- are asking exemptions from the GDPR rules on cross-border data flows, Reuters reports.

The U.S. authorities claim these rules could hamper cross-border investigations into such crimes as market manipulation and cryptocurrency fraud. They are seeking an administrative arrangement, according to Reuters.

Also involved in discussions now going on with EU regulators are the Ontario Securities Commission, the Japan Financial Services Agency, the UK Financial Conduct Authority and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, according to Reuters.

They fear that without a specific exemption, bad actors could challenge probes because some countries fall short of EU standards in their privacy protections.

EU spokesperson Christian Wigand told Reuters that data flows could be ensured under GDPR mechanisms.

Meanwhile, the UK’s Guardian reports that there have been a plethora of consumer privacy complaints in the wake of GDPR implementation on May 25:

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) reports a rise in breach notifications and other complaints.

The French data protection regulator, CNIL, reported a 50% increase in the number of complaints compared to the same period in 2017, 

Austria reports over 100 complaints and 59 breach notifications, the usual number for an eight-month period.