A recent £4.4m fine imposed by the ICO in October 2022 reveals its views on the responsibility of the parent company, senior management, and financial investments in organisations’ security standards to prevent cyber attacks.
Digital Accessibility: Legal & Practical Issues to Consider
With increased digitization of business processes and services affecting all industries and enterprises, the need for accessible digital tools continues to grow. Indeed, 26% of adults living in the United States have some type of disability, highlighting the crucial role accessibility tools serve in ensuring an inclusive digital environment. Furthermore, in certain instances, the implementation of accessibility best practices may be legally required. We discuss these issues in our most recent Tech Law Talks podcast.
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Government releases proposals to reform UK data protection laws
On 17 June 2022, in response to its consultation in 2021 on the same topic (which we wrote about here), the UK government published more detailed proposals to reform data protection laws in the UK. The response to the consultation can be found here. The intention of the reforms is to achieve greater personal data use enabling economic growth by removing barriers and reducing obstacles for organisations whilst maintaining high standards of personal data protection and EU adequacy.
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New rules to strengthen and better enforce consumer rights in Germany and the EU
Introduction and Overview
The year 2022 is one of major changes to consumer protection laws in Germany and the EU, namely:
- Changes in connection with digital products and corresponding new provisions for the sale of consumer goods took effect on 1 January 2022 (see our earlier Reed Smith Client Alert Part I).
- New consumer protection rules regarding automatic renewal and notice periods took effect in March 2022.
- Requirements regarding termination buttons will come into force on 1 July 2022 (see our earlier Reed Smith Client Alert Part II).
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The fourth anniversary of the GDPR: How the GDPR has had a domino effect
Four years ago, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) came into force in the EU. Since then, the GDPR has had a domino effect, as many countries in the world have used it as a model to shape their own rules on the handling of personal data. Given the rapid changes in data protection legislation around the world, legal and compliance teams of multinational organisations are under pressure to keep up with such developments as they continuously adapt their compliance programs in response.
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Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport launches consultation on app security
On 4 May 2022, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) launched a consultation (available here) to request views from the tech industry on potential interventions to enhance security and privacy requirements for firms running app stores and developers making apps.
CafePress FTC settlement signals future approach to enforcement actions
On March 15, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a proposed settlement with online custom merchandise platform CafePress in connection with the company’s alleged: (1) failure to implement reasonable security measures to secure consumers’ Personal Information; and (2) attempt to cover up a significant 2019 data breach. The proposed settlement would require CafePress to implement a comprehensive data security program and pay $500,000 in redress to victims of the data breaches. The FTC’s Complaint alleges that CafePress misrepresented its security practices and unfairly failed to implement reasonable security measures to protect the Personal Information of consumers and merchants stored on the company’s systems. Although similar in content to previous FTC orders, the current order addresses a myriad of unique provisions and provides a glimpse into the FTC’s future enforcement of cybersecurity issues.
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Cybersecurity 2.0: the UK follows suit with the EU in launching cybersecurity law reform
Following the recent adoption of a new draft EU cybersecurity directive (we wrote about it here), the UK government has now also launched a consultation on its proposal to reform the existing UK cybersecurity legislation (see consultation here).
A recap of the current UK cybersecurity law: NIS Regulations
One of the key pieces of cybersecurity legislation in the UK is the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018 (NIS Regulations), which implemented the EU Cybersecurity Directive 2016 prior to Brexit.
Under the NIS Regulations, businesses who provide certain essential services (referred to as operators of essential services, or OES) and relevant digital service providers (RDSP) are required to register with the relevant competent authorities; meet a baseline level of cybersecurity requirements; and report any incident which has a significant impact on the continuity of the essential services.
SEC proposes cybersecurity rules for registered funds and investment advisers
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is proposing new rules to require registered funds (RFs) and investment advisers (RIAs) to implement comprehensive cybersecurity programs. Under the proposed rules, the SEC seeks to accomplish four main objectives, requiring RFs and RIAs to:
- Maintain and implement cybersecurity policies and procedures;
- Adopt new recordkeeping standards;
- Report significant cybersecurity incidents to the commission; and
- Disclose cybersecurity risks and incidents to clients and investors.
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Cybersecurity 2.0: European Parliament adopts new draft directive
During the autumn of 2021, the European Parliament adopted a draft cybersecurity directive, the revised ‘Directive on security of network and information systems’ (commonly referred to as ‘NIS2’). When it moved to the Council, additional changes were made; one was to extend the time for Member States to transpose it into national law from 18 months to two years.
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