The UK government recently published its response (Government Response) to a House of Lords committee report (Committee Report) discussing prospective regulation of digital services facilitated by the internet. The Government Response largely accepts the key recommendations of the Committee Report, and finds the Committee Report is closely aligned with the government’s preferred approach. The Government … Continue Reading
The UK Jurisdiction Taskforce (UKJT) recently published a consultation paper requesting submissions from stakeholders working with, or interested in, cryptoassets, distributed ledger technology (DLT) and smart contracts. Submissions will inform a legal statement by UKJT which will aim to settle questions on the legal status of cryptoassets and smart contracts. UKJT is drawn from industry, … Continue Reading
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published its update reflecting on its GDPR experience over the past year and its upcoming priorities to stay relevant, foster innovation and maintain its position as an “influential regulator on the national and international stage”. Supporting the public, DPOs, SMEs and other organisations The first year of the GDPR … Continue Reading
R. Raphael & Sons plc (Raphaels) has received fines totalling £1,887,252 from the FCA and PRA for repeated failings in relation to inadequate systems and controls supporting the oversight and governance of its outsourcing arrangements. Raphaels outsourced certain functions that supported payment services for its prepaid and charge card programmes in the UK and Europe … Continue Reading
On April 18, 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) requesting comments on proposed Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standard CIP-012-1. As written, CIP-012-1 will require responsible entities to implement controls to protect communication links and data transmissions in an effort to mitigate cybersecurity risks to communications between … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a fact sheet clarifying violations of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) for which a business associate can be held directly liable. The fact sheet outlines 10 specific circumstances for which OCR has authority to take enforcement … Continue Reading
The GDPR just had its first birthday. Before the GDPR became effective, organisations were anxious because the Regulation provides for heavy penalties. But was their anxiety justified? And as a first step, how have EU member states themselves implemented the GDPR? This article will provide short answers to these questions. Local implementation efforts Although the … Continue Reading
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights has recently published recommendations for improving compliance with human rights regulations by parties developing, deploying or implementing artificial intelligence (AI). The recommendations are addressed to Member States. The principles concern stakeholders who significantly influence the development and implementation of an AI system. The Commissioner has focussed on … Continue Reading
The EU has published its initial eCommerce proposals (Proposal) to be discussed at the WTO negotiating meeting, which is ongoing at the time of writing. The EU has been a member of the WTO for more than 20 years. The 28 member states of the EU are also members of the WTO in their own … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a new set of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) FAQs building upon prior guidance from OCR. The new FAQs discuss the applicability of HIPAA to covered entities and business associates that interact with health apps and explain when HIPAA regulated … Continue Reading
The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published new guidance on certification and codes of conduct for data processing as well as expected timetables for finalising its revised guidelines on these topics. Certification Certification is a voluntary mechanism for organisations to validate their compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR). Once the submissions … Continue Reading
The Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) is inviting submissions to help inform its review of online targeting and bias in algorithmic decision making. Online targeting Online targeting refers to providing individuals with relevant and engaging content, products, and services. Typically users experience targeting in the form of online advertising or personalised social media … Continue Reading
After soliciting public comments since last November, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security (MPS) published the finalized Guideline for Internet Personal Information Security Protection (Guideline) on April 10, 2019. The Guideline applies to Personal Information Holders, defined as entities or individuals that “control and process personal information” through their provision of services using the Internet, … Continue Reading
A few days before the entry into force of the GDPR, the CNIL imposed a 250,000 euros penalty to the company Optical Center for failure to secure personal data on its website – where a breach occurred, allowing access to invoices and purchases orders containing personal and sensitive data of customers. Further to Optical Center’s … Continue Reading
On April 26, the Geschäftsgeheimnisgesetz (Trade Secrets Act, “Act”) came into effect. It took Germany over a year from the implementation deadline to transpose the Trade Secrets Directive (“Directive”) into national law. The Act replaces the provisions of the Unfair Competition Act on misappropriation of trade secrets and introduces new procedural rules for trade secret … Continue Reading
The UK government has recently published an invitation to take part in its consultation on proposals for the regulation of the Internet of Things (IoT). The consultation, to be run by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, seeks input into future regulation aimed at improving IoT security. This invitation follows the recent publication … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) filed a Notice of Enforcement Decision (the “Notice of Enforcement”) on April 26, 2019, confirming the agency’s reconsideration of its prior interpretation of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act’s (the “HITECH Act’s”) penalty structure. Effective immediately, the maximum penalty that the HHS … Continue Reading
Check out this month’s edition of The Privacy Advisor, a publication of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), for Aaron Lancaster and Divonne Smoyer’s and Q&A with Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan. As attorney general, he has taken an active role in advocating for consumers’ rights with respect to privacy and data security by … Continue Reading
On 3 April 2019, the Conference of German Data Protection Authorities (‘German DPAs’) published a resolution on the interpretation of “certain areas of scientific research” in Recital 33 of the GDPR and the concept of ‘broad consent’ (‘Resolution’). According to Recital 33 of the GDPR, it “is often not possible to fully identify the purpose … Continue Reading
On April 10, U.S. lawmakers introduced the Algorithmic Accountability Act (the AAA). The AAA empowers the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to promulgate regulations requiring covered entities to conduct impact assessments of algorithmic “automated decision systems” (including machine learning and artificial intelligence) to evaluate their “accuracy, fairness, bias, discrimination, privacy and security.” The bill is evocative … Continue Reading
The UK Government has published a White Paper outlining its approach towards regulating the internet to tackle online harms. The White Paper cites a study carried out by the UK’s communications regulator (Ofcom) and data protection regulator (Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)). The study found that nearly one in four British adults suffered harm from either … Continue Reading
With all the focus on Brexit and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), there has not been much published about the draft e-Privacy regulation recently. Readers will remember that there had been plans to implement this companion legislation (which covers specific issues regarding cookies and direct marketing among other things), at the same time as … Continue Reading
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued a consultation on a draft code of practice for designing age-appropriate access for children accessing online products and services provided by information society services (ISS). The consultation closes on 31 May 2019. The draft code sets out principles for any online service accessed by children under the age … Continue Reading
The Council of Europe (CoE) recently issued its recommendation to member states on the protection of health-related data (Recommendation). The Recommendation guides member states to ensure that their law and practice reflect the principles of processing health-related data. The recommendations stem from Convention 108 which was the first international treaty in the field of data … Continue Reading
