Today, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) handed down its decision in Google v. CNIL, dealing with the remit of the ‘right to be forgotten’ (RTBF). In short, the ECJ held that the operator of a search engine is not required to carry out de-referencing on all domain extensions of its search engine when dealing … Continue Reading
The Fall 2018 edition of the quarterly IT & Data Protection Newsletter by Reed Smith Germany has just been released. We provide updates on Facebook fan pages, the right to be forgotten, cease and desists by competitors under GDPR, spamming and customer satisfaction surveys, the German Network Enforcement Act, and more. The newsletter also includes … Continue Reading
In the recent case of Sabados v Facebook Ireland [2018], the English High Court ordered Facebook to disclose the identity of a mystery individual who requested that the platform delete the profile of a deceased user of the platform. Around six months after the death of Mr Mirza Krupalija, Facebook received a request from an … Continue Reading
On 13 April 2018, the High Court, in NT1 & NT2 v Google LLC [2018] EWHC 799 (QB), ruled against Google, in favour of two businessmen advocating for the right to be forgotten. You can find the full judgment here, but in this blog we explore the reasoning behind the Court’s decision. Right to be … Continue Reading
The Winter 2018 edition of the quarterly IT & Data Protection Newsletter by Reed Smith Germany has just been released. We cover new case law on marketing consent, cookie consent, the liability of platform providers, employee data protection, sales of address data and the right to be forgotten. The newsletter also includes multiple recommended reads … Continue Reading
The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (‘ICO’) has published what appears to be its first public enforcement notice based upon “the right to be forgotten” against Google Inc. The “right to be forgotten” was introduced by the ECJ last year when it held that data subjects have a right to compel search engines to remove results … Continue Reading
A leaked draft proposal posted by StateWatch and created by the European Commission reports that most Member States appear to be in favour of introducing a three-tiered fine system for non-compliance with EU data protection rules. Under the proposal, which was revised as a result of the 21 April 2015 meeting, all Member States are … Continue Reading
Italy’s Chamber of Deputies has proposed a ‘Draft Declaration of Internet Rights’ (Declaration), acknowledging both the way in which the internet has changed interactions and the way it has erased borders, but also noting that the EU’s protection of personal data is a necessary reference for governing operation of the internet. The Declaration is now open … Continue Reading
In May 2014, we reported on the implications of the landmark decision in Google Spain which recognises the right for individuals to have links about themselves de-listed from search results. In response to the complaints received, the Article 29 Working Party (Art 29 WP) published a report on work being carried out to handle complaints, … Continue Reading
In November, the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party (Working Party) released guidelines as to how the Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) assembled in the Working Party intend to implement the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the case of Google Spain SL and Google Inc. v Agencia Española de … Continue Reading
In July 2014, the High Court (the ‘Court’) considered for the first time the implications of the landmark decision in Google Spain, when delivering an interim judgment in the case of Hegglin v Persons Unknown [2014] EWHC 2808 (the ‘Judgment’). Mr Hegglin (the ‘Claimant’), a businessman who lived in London but now resides in Hong … Continue Reading
Back in May, we covered the European Union Court of Justice’s landmark ruling in the Google Spain case (‘CJEU Judgment’). Since then, much has been made in the media about the so-called “right to be forgotten”, and the various characters that have requested the removal of links relating to them. Now, the House of Lords … Continue Reading
Australia’s privacy protection reform laws came into force in mid-March, making significant changes to the regulation of data. Further reform is now on the horizon, with the Australian Law Reform Commission (the Commission) publishing a discussion paper titled, ‘Serious Invasions of Privacy in the Digital Era’ (Discussion Paper). The Commission is carrying out an inquiry … Continue Reading
This post was written by Cynthia O’Donoghue. The "right to be forgotten" is a hot topic of discussion in the context of imminent EU Data Protection Reform. Article 17 of the new EU General Data Protection Regulation will give data subjects the “right of erasure” to request that data controllers delete any personal data relating … Continue Reading
This post was written by Cynthia O’Donoghue. In a speech at the EC Justice Council meeting in Dublin 18 January 2013, Vivian Reding, European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, demonstrated her commitment to continuing the “good progress” made on the EU Proposed Data Protection Framework (Proposed Framework). Her comments focused on three topics … Continue Reading
The “right to be forgotten” as contained in the EU Commission’s Proposed Data Protection Regulation (Proposed Regulation), enhances the existing right to data erasure obligation by including an obligation on data controllers that have personal data public, to inform third parties on the data subject’s request to erase any links to, or copy or replicate … Continue Reading
This post was written by Cynthia O’Donoghue. The UK Justice Committee has laid out its concerns in its opinion on the European Commission’s legislative proposals (the Proposal) for reform of the European Data Protection Framework. In forming its judgement, the Justice Committee heard evidence from: the Ministry of Justice, the Information Commissioner’s Office, the EU … Continue Reading
In the midst of discussions on Google’s revised privacy policy and its compliance with EU legislation, Spain’s highest court, the Audiencia Nacional de España, has referred a case up to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to decide on whether Spanish citizens can lawfully demand that Google delete information about them from its search engine, … Continue Reading
The European Commission’s new draft data protection regulation was leaked to the press earlier this month. The proposal includes repeal of the present EU Data Protection Directive 95/46 and recommends a General Data Protection Regulation, as well as a Police and Criminal Justice Data Protection Directive. The Commission appears to have made good its threats … Continue Reading
In a bid to strengthen the European data privacy rules it is most likely that non-European companies will be held to the same standards as European companies in a bid to further protect EU consumer privacy. The EU Justice Minister, Viviane Reding, and the German Consumer Protection Minister, Ilse Aigner, released a joint statement saying … Continue Reading