On 21 March 2019, Advocate General Maciej Szpunar (“AG”) delivered an opinion on cookie consent, information obligations regarding cookies and consent bundling (Case C-673/17, Planet49 GmbH v. Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen und Verbraucherverbände – Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V.). In the case at issue, users entering into a promotional lottery were confronted with two checkboxes: A checkbox obtaining … Continue Reading
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published an opinion (Opinion) on the interplay between the ePrivacy Directive (Directive 2002/58/EC) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679). The Opinion responds to questions submitted by the Belgian data protection authority, specifically: whether data protection authorities (DPAs) are competent to regulate processing that triggers both … Continue Reading
On 12 March 2019, the European Parliament issued its first position on the text proposed by the European Commission for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on ENISA (the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security), also known as the EU Cybersecurity Act. Initiatives to build strong EU-wide cybersecurity The … Continue Reading
On February 26, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Bureau of Competition announced a new Technology Task Force, which will monitor anticompetitive conduct in U.S. technology markets “to ensure consumers benefit from free and fair competition.” With the consumer protection agency already a chief arbiter of privacy enforcement in the tech sector, the new task … Continue Reading
With the passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act but no clear federal consumer privacy law on the imminent horizon, state Attorneys General (AGs) continue to investigate and analyze how best to protect their consumers. To further that goal, the National Association of Attorneys General hosted a panel entitled Emerging Issues in the Data Economy … Continue Reading
The Winter 2019 edition of the quarterly IT & Data Protection Newsletter by Reed Smith Germany has just been released. We provide updates on Facebook Custom Audiences, social plug-ins, influencer advertising, withdrawal right information, the EU copyright law reform and more. The newsletter also includes multiple recommended reads on the GDPR. We hope you enjoy … Continue Reading
On 26 February 2019, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), Giovanni Buttarelli, published his first annual report since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force last year. This is a short overview of some of the key themes in the EDPS’s annual report: Overview of 2018: GDPR: This is the first annual report of … Continue Reading
The United States District Court for the Southern District of California recently changed course in an enforcement action brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against cryptocurrency company Blockvest, LLC and its founder. In doing so, the court granted the SEC’s request to preliminarily enjoin the defendants from violating the securities laws and … Continue Reading
On February 26 and 27, 2019, the House Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, respectively, held hearings to explore the potential passage of a national privacy law. In both houses, members of Congress and the panelists agreed that the federal government should enact legislation to protect … Continue Reading
On February 14, 2019 the European Commission, European Parliament and Council of the European Union agreed to implement new rules designed to ensure a fair, transparent and predictable business environment to the benefit of both end consumers and entrepreneurs using third-party online platforms for their business. The Council and European Parliament will adopt these new … Continue Reading
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has adopted guidelines in relation to the certification mechanism prescribed under the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR). The EDPB guidelines are aimed at supervisory authorities and certification bodies and provide helpful insight into the requirements and criteria relevant to all types of certification mechanisms issued under articles 42 … Continue Reading
BREAKING: California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (AG) announced a proposed series of amendments to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) that would: Expand consumers’ private right of action to include all alleged violations of their rights under the CCPA; Eliminate businesses’ 30-day opportunity to “cure” alleged violations prior to being subject to civil enforcement by … Continue Reading
In today’s digital age, brands are increasingly utilising the platforms of celebrities, vloggers, bloggers and other social media personalities (Influencers) to reach their target audiences and boost sales. Social media platforms are now coming under scrutiny for their unregulated space. To assist influencers and brands to comply with the law, the Competition and Markets Authority … Continue Reading
Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, 740 ILCS 14/1 et seq. (BIPA) stands out among state biometrics statutes nationwide in that it includes a private right of action for anyone “aggrieved” by a private entity’s failure to comply with BIPA’s compliance requirements. The Illinois Supreme Court recently ruled that a plaintiff may assert that they are … Continue Reading
On 12 February 2019, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) met for its seventh plenary session. You can see our blog on the full session here. At this session, the EDPB adopted two information notes. The information notes offer guidance on data protection issues in the event of a no-deal Brexit, namely: data transfers generally … Continue Reading
China’s National Information Security Standardization Technical Committee issued draft amendments (Amendments) to the standards that govern the protection of personal information, “Information Security Technology – Personal Information Security Specification” (Standards, effective May 1, 2018) on February 1, 2019. The Standards provide guidance on interpreting China’s Cybersecurity Law (CSL) and set out best practices for the … Continue Reading
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) met for its seventh plenary session on 12 February 2019. The session covered many areas of discussion, outlined in the agenda. The four main areas covered, and highlighted in the EDPB’s press release, were: 1. Work programme: The EDPB adopted a two-year work programme, covering 2019-2020. The work programme … Continue Reading
Massachusetts state Senator Cynthia Creem has introduced a consumer data privacy bill, SD 341, that would give Massachusetts consumers the right to sue in the event their personal information or biometric data is improperly collected or distributed or for any other potential violation of the new law. Under SD 341, and similar to Illinois’s Biometric … Continue Reading
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) recently adopted its opinion on the interplay between the Clinical Trials Regulation 536/2014 (CTR) and the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) (the opinion). The opinion was given at the request of the European Commission. The CTR seeks to harmonise the rules for conducting clinical trials throughout the European … Continue Reading
The update to the existing Massachusetts data breach notification statute (set to go into effect on April 11, 2019) introduces novel requirements for notices to both affected individuals and regulators and requires credit monitoring services to be offered in some instances for at least 18 months. The legislation updates the statute in a number of … Continue Reading
In late 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) published a final rule updating and adding to the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standards, which are intended to help protect the bulk electric system (BES) in North America against cybersecurity risks. The final rule: Creates a new Supply Chain Risk Management Reliability Standard (CIP-013-1) Updates … Continue Reading
On 23 January 2019, the European Commission adopted an adequacy decision for Japan, with immediate effect. The decision certifies Japan as having a comparable level of data protection to that of the European Union. On the same day, Japan adopted an equivalent decision regarding the EU’s data protection regime. This is the first example of … Continue Reading
In an interview dated February 2018,[1] Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, at the Head of the French data protection authority (CNIL), stated that the CNIL would adopt a flexible and pragmatic approach from May 2018 onwards when controlling compliance with data protection requirements. The first decision of sanction rendered by the CNIL on Monday January 21, 2019, which … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) brought a criminal prosecution against the parent company of Cambridge Analytica, SCL Elections, for failing to comply with an enforcement notice issued by the ICO. SCL was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay costs. The criminal prosecution may not sound surprising – after all, SCL had failed … Continue Reading
