compliance-check

SKILL.md

/compliance-check -- Compliance Review

If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see CONNECTORS.md.

Run a compliance check on a proposed action, product feature, marketing campaign, or business initiative.

Important: This command assists with legal workflows but does not provide legal advice. Compliance assessments should be reviewed by qualified legal professionals. Regulatory requirements change frequently; always verify current requirements with authoritative sources.

Usage

/compliance-check $ARGUMENTS

What I Need From You
Describe what you're planning to do. Examples:

"We want to launch a referral program with cash rewards"

"We're adding biometric authentication to our mobile app"

"We need to process EU customer data in our US data center"

"Marketing wants to use customer testimonials in ads"

Output

## Compliance Check: [Initiative]

### Summary
[Quick assessment: Proceed / Proceed with conditions / Requires further review]

### Applicable Regulations and Policies
| Regulation/Policy | Relevance | Key Requirements |
|-------------------|-----------|-----------------|
| [GDPR / CCPA / HIPAA / etc.] | [How it applies] | [What you need to do] |

### Requirements
| # | Requirement | Status | Action Needed |
|---|-------------|--------|---------------|
| 1 | [Requirement] | [Met / Not Met / Unknown] | [What to do] |

### Risk Areas
| Risk | Severity | Mitigation |
|------|----------|------------|
| [Risk] | [High/Med/Low] | [How to address] |

### Recommended Actions
1. [Most important action]
2. [Second priority]
3. [Third priority]

### Approvals Needed
| Approver | Why | Status |
|----------|-----|--------|
| [Person/Team] | [Reason] | [Pending] |

### Further Review Recommended
[Areas where outside counsel or specialist review is advised]

Privacy Regulation Overview

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

Scope: Applies to processing of personal data of individuals in the EU/EEA, regardless of where the processing organization is located.

Key Obligations for In-House Legal Teams:

Lawful basis: Identify and document lawful basis for each processing activity (consent, contract, legitimate interest, legal obligation, vital interest, public task)

Data subject rights: Respond to access, rectification, erasure, portability, restriction, and objection requests within 30 days (extendable by 60 days for complex requests)

Data protection impact assessments (DPIAs): Required for processing likely to result in high risk to individuals

Breach notification: Notify supervisory authority within 72 hours of becoming aware of a personal data breach; notify affected individuals without undue delay if high risk

Records of processing: Maintain Article 30 records of processing activities

International transfers: Ensure appropriate safeguards for transfers outside EEA (SCCs, adequacy decisions, BCRs)

DPO requirement: Appoint a Data Protection Officer if required (public authority, large-scale processing of special categories, large-scale systematic monitoring)

Common In-House Legal Touchpoints:

Reviewing vendor DPAs for GDPR compliance

Advising product teams on privacy by design requirements

Responding to supervisory authority inquiries

Managing cross-border data transfer mechanisms

Reviewing consent mechanisms and privacy notices

CCPA / CPRA (California Consumer Privacy Act / California Privacy Rights Act)

Scope: Applies to businesses that collect personal information of California residents and meet revenue, data volume, or data sale thresholds.

Key Obligations:

Right to know: Consumers can request disclosure of personal information collected, used, and shared

Right to delete: Consumers can request deletion of their personal information

Right to opt-out: Consumers can opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information

Right to correct: Consumers can request correction of inaccurate personal information (CPRA addition)

Right to limit use of sensitive personal information: Consumers can limit use of sensitive PI to specific purposes (CPRA addition)

Non-discrimination: Cannot discriminate against consumers who exercise their rights

Privacy notice: Must provide a privacy notice at or before collection describing categories of PI collected and purposes

Service provider agreements: Contracts with service providers must restrict use of PI to the specified business purpose

Response Timelines:

Acknowledge receipt within 10 business days

Respond substantively within 45 calendar days (extendable by 45 days with notice)

Other Key Regulations to Monitor

Regulation
Jurisdiction
Key Differentiators

LGPD (Brazil)
Brazil
Similar to GDPR; requires DPO appointment; National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) enforcement

POPIA (South Africa)
South Africa
Information Regulator oversight; required registration of processing

PIPEDA (Canada)
Canada (federal)
Consent-based framework; OPC oversight; being modernized

PDPA (Singapore)
Singapore
Do Not Call registry; mandatory breach notification; PDPC enforcement

Privacy Act (Australia)
Australia
Australian Privacy Principles (APPs); notifiable data breaches scheme

PIPL (China)
China
Strict cross-border transfer rules; data localization requirements; CAC oversight

UK GDPR
United Kingdom
Post-Brexit UK version; ICO oversight; similar to EU GDPR with UK-specific adequacy

DPA Review Checklist

When reviewing a Data Processing Agreement or Data Processing Addendum, verify the following:

Required Elements (GDPR Article 28)

 Subject matter and duration: Clearly defined scope and term of processing

 Nature and purpose: Specific description of what processing will occur and why

 Type of personal data: Categories of personal data being processed

 Categories of data subjects: Whose personal data is being processed

 Controller obligations and rights: Controller's instructions and oversight rights

Processor Obligations

 Process only on documented instructions: Processor commits to process only per controller's instructions (with exception for legal requirements)

 Confidentiality: Personnel authorized to process have committed to confidentiality

 Security measures: Appropriate technical and organizational measures described (Article 32 reference)

 Sub-processor requirements:

 Written authorization requirement (general or specific)

 If general authorization: notification of changes with opportunity to object

 Sub-processors bound by same obligations via written agreement

 Processor remains liable for sub-processor performance

 Data subject rights assistance: Processor will assist controller in responding to data subject requests

 Security and breach assistance: Processor will assist with security obligations, breach notification, DPIAs, and prior consultation

 Deletion or return: On termination, delete or return all personal data (at controller's choice) and delete existing copies unless legal retention required

 Audit rights: Controller has right to conduct audits and inspections (or accept third-party audit reports)

 Breach notification: Processor will notify controller of personal data breaches without undue delay (ideally within 24-48 hours; must enable controller to meet 72-hour regulatory deadline)

International Transfers

 Transfer mechanism identified: SCCs, adequacy decision, BCRs, or other valid mechanism

 SCCs version: Using current EU SCCs (June 2021 version) if applicable

 Correct module: Appropriate SCC module selected (C2P, C2C, P2P, P2C)

 Transfer impact assessment: Completed if transferring to countries without adequacy decisions

 Supplementary measures: Technical, organizational, or contractual measures to address gaps identified in transfer impact assessment

 UK addendum: If UK personal data is in scope, UK International Data Transfer Addendum included

Practical Considerations

 Liability: DPA liability provisions align with (or don't conflict with) the main services agreement

 Termination alignment: DPA term aligns with the services agreement

 Data locations: Processing locations specified and acceptable

 Security standards: Specific security standards or certifications required (SOC 2, ISO 27001, etc.)

 Insurance: Adequate insurance coverage for data processing activities

Common DPA Issues

Issue
Risk
Standard Position

Blanket sub-processor authorization without notification
Loss of control over processing chain
Require notification with right to object

Breach notification timeline > 72 hours
May prevent timely regulatory notification
Require notification within 24-48 hours

No audit rights (or audit rights only via third-party reports)
Cannot verify compliance
Accept SOC 2 Type II + right to audit upon cause

Data deletion timeline not specified
Data retained indefinitely
Require deletion within 30-90 days of termination

No data processing locations specified
Data could be processed anywhere
Require disclosure of processing locations

Outdated SCCs
Invalid transfer mechanism
Require current EU SCCs (2021 version)

Data Subject Request Handling

Request Intake

When a data subject request is received:

Identify the request type:

Access (copy of personal data)

Rectification (correction of inaccurate data)

Erasure / deletion ("right to be forgotten")

Restriction of processing

Data portability (structured, machine-readable format)

Objection to processing

Opt-out of sale/sharing (CCPA/CPRA)

Limit use of sensitive personal information (CPRA)

Identify applicable regulation(s):

Where is the data subject located?

Which laws apply based on your organization's presence and activities?

What are the specific requirements and timelines?

Verify identity:

Confirm the requester is who they claim to be

Use reasonable verification measures proportionate to the sensitivity of the data

Do not require excessive documentation

Log the request:

Date received

Request type

Requester identity

Applicable regulation

Response deadline

Assigned handler

Response Timelines

Regulation
Initial Acknowledgment
Substantive Response
Extension

GDPR
Not specified (best practice: promptly)
30 days
+60 days (with notice)

CCPA/CPRA
10 business days
45 calendar days
+45 days (with notice)

UK GDPR
Not specified (best practice: promptly)
30 days
+60 days (with notice)

LGPD
Not specified
15 days
Limited extensions

Exemptions and Exceptions

Before fulfilling a request, check whether any exemptions apply:

Common exemptions across regulations:

Legal claims defense or establishment

Legal obligations requiring retention

Public interest or official authority

Freedom of expression and information (for erasure requests)

Archiving in the public interest or scientific/historical research

Organization-specific considerations:

Litigation hold: Data subject to a legal hold cannot be deleted

Regulatory retention: Financial records, employment records, and other categories may have mandatory retention periods

Third-party rights: Fulfilling the request might adversely affect the rights of others

Response Process

Gather all personal data of the requester across systems

Apply any exemptions and document the basis

Prepare response: fulfill the request or explain why (in whole or part) it cannot be fulfilled

If denying (in whole or part): cite the specific legal basis for denial

Inform the requester of their right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority

Document the response and retain records of the request and response

Regulatory Monitoring Basics

What to Monitor

Maintain awareness of developments in:

Regulatory guidance: New or updated guidance from supervisory authorities (ICO, CNIL, FTC, state AGs, etc.)

Enforcement actions: Fines, orders, and settlements that signal regulatory priorities

Legislative changes: New privacy laws, amendments to existing laws, implementing regulations

Industry standards: Updates to ISO 27001, SOC 2, NIST frameworks, and sector-specific requirements

Cross-border transfer developments: Adequacy decisions, SCC updates, data localization requirements

Monitoring Approach

Subscribe to regulatory authority communications (newsletters, RSS feeds, official announcements)

Track relevant legal publications for analysis of new developments

Review industry association updates for sector-specific guidance

Maintain a regulatory calendar of known upcoming deadlines, effective dates, and compliance milestones

Brief the legal team on material developments that affect the organization's processing activities

Escalation Criteria

Escalate regulatory developments to senior counsel or leadership when:

A new regulation or guidance directly affects the organization's core business activities

An enforcement action in the organization's sector signals heightened regulatory scrutiny

A compliance deadline is approaching that requires organizational changes

A data transfer mechanism the organization relies on is challenged or invalidated

A regulatory authority initiates an inquiry or investigation involving the organization

Tips

Be specific — "We want to email all our users" is better than "marketing campaign."

Include the geography — Compliance requirements vary by jurisdiction.

Mention the data — What personal data is involved? This drives most compliance requirements.

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