DATA PROTECTION
Italian Data Protection Authority: FAQ and guidance document on the application of the legislation on the so-called "oncological oblivion" for banks, financial intermediaries, insurance companies and public and private employers.
The Italian Data Protection Authority has published FAQs on the recent legislation on so-called oncological oblivion, introduced by Law No. 193 of 7 December 2023 containing provisions for the prevention of discrimination and the protection of the rights of people who have been affected by oncological diseases.
The FAQs, in addition to providing clarifications to citizens on the right to be forgotten about cancer, provide useful information to all public and private employers and banks, insurance companies, credit and financial intermediaries so that they can correctly apply the new legislation, whose task of monitoring and verifying correct application is precisely entrusted to the Italian Data Protection Authority who, in the event of any violations of the data protection regulations, may impose sanctions provided for by Regulation 679/2016 (GDPR).
The legislation on oncological oblivion prohibits banks, insurance companies, and all employers (both in the personnel selection phase and during the employment relationship), from requesting information from the user and the employee on an oncological pathology from which he or she has previously been suffering and whose treatment has been concluded - without episodes of recurrence - for more than ten years (reduced to five if the subject was under 21 years of age at the time of the disease has arisen).
The law also establishes special protections for couples who apply for adoption to the Juvenile Court. The Court, in the selection of couples, cannot collect information on previous oncological pathologies when more than ten years have passed since the conclusion of the treatment of the pathology - in the absence of recurrences or relapses - or more than five years if the pathology manifested itself before the age of 21 (the rule also applies in the case of adoption of foreign minors).
The FAQs, in addition to providing clarifications to citizens on the right to be forgotten about cancer, provide useful information to all public and private employers and banks, insurance companies, credit and financial intermediaries so that they can correctly apply the new legislation, whose task of monitoring and verifying correct application is precisely entrusted to the Italian Data Protection Authority who, in the event of any violations of the data protection regulations, may impose sanctions provided for by Regulation 679/2016 (GDPR).
The legislation on oncological oblivion prohibits banks, insurance companies, and all employers (both in the personnel selection phase and during the employment relationship), from requesting information from the user and the employee on an oncological pathology from which he or she has previously been suffering and whose treatment has been concluded - without episodes of recurrence - for more than ten years (reduced to five if the subject was under 21 years of age at the time of the disease has arisen).
The law also establishes special protections for couples who apply for adoption to the Juvenile Court. The Court, in the selection of couples, cannot collect information on previous oncological pathologies when more than ten years have passed since the conclusion of the treatment of the pathology - in the absence of recurrences or relapses - or more than five years if the pathology manifested itself before the age of 21 (the rule also applies in the case of adoption of foreign minors).
