On April 30, 2020, the French data protection authority, the CNIL, published a guidance surrounding considerations behind what it calls “commercial prospecting,” meaning scraping publicly available website data to obtain individuals’ contact info for purposes of selling such data to third parties for direct marketing purposes. The guidance is significant in two respects. First, it … Continue Reading
GDPR fines are seemingly like buses, you wait over a year for enforcement action by the UK’s data supervisory authority, the ICO, and then two come along at once – and with quite dramatic effect.… Continue Reading
In late March, the French Data Protection Authority, Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (“CNIL”) released a model regulation (the “Model Regulation”) governing the use of biometric access controls in the workplace. Unlike many items of personal information, biometric data (such as a person’s face or fingerprints) is unique and, if stolen or otherwise … Continue Reading
With less than a month to go until the UK is due to leave the EU (at 11pm GMT/12pm CET on 29 March 2019), there is still much uncertainty as to whether, and if so how, the UK will exit the EU (commonly dubbed “Brexit”). In light of this uncertainty we outline what will happen, … Continue Reading
The French Supreme Court sanctions a company for having produced complete employee pay slips in a litigation. It is not news that the rules of evidence and data privacy laws may be conflicting. A recent decision of the French Supreme Court[1] illustrates this tension and highlights the need for litigators to take into account data … Continue Reading
Uncertainty regarding the compatibility of blockchain technology and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has often been highlighted as a potential obstacle to the development and widespread implementation of blockchain systems involving personal data. To address tensions between blockchain technology and the GDPR, Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), the French … Continue Reading
The effective date of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is fast approaching (May 25, 2018), and its impacts are already being felt across various industries. Specifically, the conflicts between the GDPR and the technical realities of blockchains raise important legal considerations for companies seeking to implement blockchain solutions that involve the personal data … Continue Reading
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force across the European Union (EU) on 25 May 2018. It will have an impact on EU fund managers and may have an impact on non-EU fund managers depending on their operations. Below are FAQs to help EU and non-EU fund managers determine the extent to which the … Continue Reading
Proskauer has released a white paper on “What Employers Need to Know about Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation.” As you may know, on April 14, 2016, the European Parliament approved the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which will replace the EU’s current data privacy standard and begin to apply on May 25, 2018. This paper … Continue Reading
This post provides an update as to the current status of official GDPR-related guidance. With a little under a year remaining until the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes enforceable, companies are on the lookout for any interpretive guidance from EU or member state authorities that will help them focus their compliance efforts. … Continue Reading
The European Commission has released proposals for new legislation that seeks to create stronger privacy in electronic communications. The draft Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulation (the “Regulation”) is intended to replace the ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC) and will also bring the law in line with the new rules as set out in the General Data Protection … Continue Reading
The CJEU (the European Union Court of Justice) has handed down a decision which makes clear that general and indiscriminate retention of electronic communications is unlawful. National legislation of each European Member State should ensure that mass surveillance only occurs where it is strictly necessary in order to combat serious crime as well as terrorism … Continue Reading
On Friday, the Article 29 Working Party issued official guidance relating to the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR (which we’ve covered in previous posts here and here). The Article 29 Working Party is comprised of representatives of the various EU Member States’ data protection authorities (DPAs), so this marks the first time that the … Continue Reading
On October 19, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that dynamic IP addresses may qualify as “personal data” under EU privacy law. As we covered here on the blog a few months ago, this decision is significant because it clarifies that companies that collect, store, process, and/or transfer dynamic IP addresses … Continue Reading
TalkTalk, a major UK telecoms company, has been fined £400,000 for a data breach after they were hacked. This is a record fine given by the ICO (the UK’s data protection authority). Significantly the fine was imposed after a change of leadership this summer when Elizabeth Denham (previously the Information Commissioner in the Canadian province of … Continue Reading
The Privacy Shield is now live, having gone into effect on August 1. Perhaps emboldened by the Article 29 Working Party’s late July announcement that European regulators will not challenge the program’s adequacy for at least a year (after the first annual review of the program in May 2017), companies have begun self-certifying in order … Continue Reading
The European Parliament has approved the reformed General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”). Given this is a Regulation (rather than a Directive), this legislation will apply automatically in every Member State (without need for additional domestic legislation) when it comes into force on May 25 2018. Many of the requirements are similar to those set … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the European Commission adopted the EU-US Privacy Shield, a framework designed to replace the invalidated Safe Harbor program. In theory, the Privacy Shield offers its adherents a relatively simple, straightforward way to legally transfer personal data from the EU to the US. In reality, however, the Privacy Shield is likely to face legal challenges … Continue Reading
As a result of Thursday’s historic referendum, the United Kingdom will be leaving the EU. The decision will have a profound effect on many areas, including the global economy, trade, immigration and, potentially, the continued unity of the UK. The United Kingdom won’t be departing immediately, though – it must invoke Article 50 of the … Continue Reading
Last month, one of the Advocate Generals (“AG”) of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”), Manuel Campos Sánchez-Bordona, issued an opinion suggesting that dynamic IP addresses should be recognized as “personal data” under EU law. If the CJEU adopts this reasoning, it would represent a landmark decision that would resolve a contentious … Continue Reading
On Wednesday, the EU’s Article 29 Working Party issued its much-anticipated statement on the viability of the proposed EU-US Privacy Shield. As we’ve detailed previously, EU and US officials reached agreement on the Privacy Shield arrangement, which was meant to serve as a replacement for the invalidated Safe Harbor program, back in February, and released … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the European Commission announced that EU and US officials had reached an agreement to implement a program known as the EU-US Privacy Shield. Privacy Shield is designed to be the successor to the Safe Harbor program, which the European Court of Justice (CJEU) invalidated last October. The announcement brings some relief to the many … Continue Reading
Companies anxiously watching their calendars to see if a new Safe Harbor program will be introduced before the end of January may get their wish: yesterday, a European Commission official announced that the Commission will inform the European Parliament of the outcome of negotiations for a new Safe Harbor program by Monday, February 1. This … Continue Reading
Now that it’s been approved by the EU Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee, Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR” or the “Regulation”) is well on its way to replacing the 20-year-old Data Protection Directive (the “Directive”) as the EU’s omnibus data protection law. Although it won’t officially become law until it receives the approval of … Continue Reading
