Cyberattacks have become more frequent, problematic and complex over the years – so much so that they now represent a real threat to economic activities. The French Information and Digital Security Experts Club (CESIN) has estimated that 54% of French companies were subject to cyberattacks in 2021,[1] while France Assureurs has put cyberattack risks on … Continue reading
We had previously written about an FTC proposed consent order that would prohibit a company from perpetual retention of personal health information. On March 2, 2023, the FTC announced a complaint and proposed consent with BetterHelp, Inc. that would prohibit the company from perpetual retention of personal information—a broader category. Also unlike the previous matter, … Continue reading
EDPB Guidelines on the interplay between Article 3 and the provisions in Chapter V of the General Data Protection Regulation on international data transfers On 14 February 2023, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published its Guidelines on the interplay between Article 3 and the provisions in Chapter V of the General Data Protection Regulation … Continue reading
The reform of Hong Kong’s Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap.486) (the PDPO) is back on the agenda. In our earlier post in 2020, we reported that the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau published a discussion paper (the Discussion Paper) seeking the Legislative Council’s Panel on Constitutional Affairs’ (the Panel) views on proposed changes to the … Continue reading
On February 1, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission announced a complaint and stipulated order with GoodRx, with the FTC using for the first time its interpretation of the Health Breach Notification Rule. Under the Rule, the FTC interpreted a “breach” to include disclosures of personal health information without notice to the individual and consent by … Continue reading
By Anna Rudawski (US) and Alexis Wilpon (US) on Posted in General
2022 has been a record year for Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) litigation. Since its enactment in 2008, BIPA has been one of the most litigated privacy-related laws with some of the highest penalties. However, it wasn’t until last month that the first BIPA jury verdict was ever rendered. The award, a whopping $228 … Continue reading
On 16 June 2022 the Canadian federal government introduced Bill C-27, also known as the Digital Charter Implementation Act 2022. If passed, this package of laws will: Implement Canada’s first artificial intelligence (AI) legislation, the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA). Reform Canadian privacy law, replacing the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act with … Continue reading
On May 25th 2022, the European Commission published a series of questions and answers on the SCCs to be used between controllers and processors within the European Economic Area (EEA), and the SCCs to be used for transfers to countries not considered adequate by the European Commission (Third Countries) (the Q&As). The text of the … Continue reading
On 12 May 2022 EDPB adopted Guidelines on the calculation of administrative fines (the Guidelines). The Guidelines supplement the Article 29 Working Party’s Guidelines on the application and setting of administrative fines (WP253) adopted in October 2017 and recommends that the two are read together. Whereas the previous guidance set out general principles for when … Continue reading
The UK Government has added two new duties to the proposed Online Safety Bill (the Bill) that are aimed at protecting people against anonymous online abuse. These measures would give users of “main social media firms” more control over who can interact with them and the type of content users see (see the Government’s press … Continue reading
In SMO (A Child) v Tiktok Inc. & Ors [2022] EWHC 489, the High Court considered an alternative basis for bringing a representative claim for loss of control under the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) following the Supreme Court’s decision in Lloyd v Google. This case is a pre-Lloyd decision representative … Continue reading
On 23 February 2022 the EU Commission published its long-awaited Data Act, the last major building block of the Commission’s February 2020 Data Strategy. The Data Act: Is an ambitious piece of legislation with implications for consumers and businesses across the economy, not limited to the technology sector. Aims to facilitate access to data by … Continue reading
For many years, the immersive three-dimensional digital world has been left to the cinematic experience. However, the emergence of the metaverse presents an opportunity to translate everyday activities – working, attending a concert, travelling, shopping, socializing – into a parallel digital universe. The metaverse is an abstract concept that uses a digital environment to permeate … Continue reading
With the growth of the high-tech industry worldwide, it is no surprise that more and more transactions involve the transfer of rights to access or control data and derivative data. In our previous update we discussed protecting business data in a commercial context. In the M&A context, this valuable information is either the driving force of … Continue reading
Introduction Significant changes to the law with respect to security of critical infrastructure in Australia, including enhanced cybersecurity incident reporting requirements and the inclusion of further asset classes have been passed. On 22 November 2021, the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2021 (Bill) passed both houses of the federal parliament of Australia and will … Continue reading
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) released the draft Security Review Measures for Cross-Border Data Transfer (the Draft Security Review Measures) for public comments on 29 October 2021 – shortly before the effective date of the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), 1 November 2021. The three pillars of China’s cyber security and data legislation – … Continue reading
On 10 November 2021, the UK Supreme Court handed down the much anticipated judgment in Lloyd v Google LLC [2021] UKSC 50, unanimously allowing Google’s appeal and reversing the decision of the Court of Appeal. In summary, the Supreme Court ruled that damages for “loss of control” are not available for breach of the Data … Continue reading
The Singapore High Court and the Hong Kong District Court have both considered the right to compensation for injury to feelings in two recent cases involving misuse of personal data but arrived at different conclusions. Singapore: In Bellingham, Alex v. Reed, Michael, Mr. Bellingham obtained the email addresses of his former employers’ customers without their … Continue reading
In our previous publication, we discussed how a business’ data can be protected by characterizing it as intellectual property and protecting it as such. One of the most common ways to protect business data in a commercial context is through license agreements that impose contractual controls on the scope of protection of such data, as … Continue reading
On September 28, 2021, the US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee released a draft bill that would, among other things, require nearly all entities that make a ransom payment as the result of a ransomware attack against the entity to report the payment to the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency … Continue reading
The UK Government has published its National AI Strategy. Click here to read more about what the National AI Strategy says about AI regulation, and its implications for data protection in the UK. In this detailed blog we examine three discrete issues addressed in it (AI regulation, data protection and intellectual property rights) and we … Continue reading
On 10 September 2021, the UK Government published its consultation paper on proposals to reform the UK’s data protection regime. The deadline for responding to the consultation is 19 November 2021. In August, the Government announced that it intended to “seize the opportunity” afforded by the UK’s exit from the European Union to makes some … Continue reading
How do you balance sharing and protecting your business’ data? Unlike tangible assets, which can be protected primarily through physical means, intangible assets such as data require additional considerations. One key strategy to protect your business’ data is to characterize, and protect, that data as intellectual property. Data as IP Copyright Original compilations of data … Continue reading
On 26 August 2021, in a move that puts it on a potential collision course with the EU, the UK Government made a number of announcements relating to the future of the UK’s data protection regime, with the stated intention of “seizing the opportunity” by “developing a world leading data policy that will deliver a … Continue reading