Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On September 14, 2011, Alex Türk announced that he will be resigning his position as Chairman of the French Data Protection Authority (the “CNIL”), in accordance with a recent amendment to the French Data Protection Act (Loi n° 2011-334 du 29 mars 2011 relative au Défenseur des droits).  The amendment prohibits the CNIL’s Chairman from holding any other elected office or public position.  Although this restriction does not enter into force until September 1, 2012, Mr. Türk, who also serves as a senator in the French Parliament, chose to resign prior to the upcoming French senatorial elections, set for September 25, 2011.

Mr. Türk will officially tender his resignation at the next CNIL board meeting, on September 21, 2011.  The resignation will be effective immediately, and a new Chairman will be elected that same day.