In December 2019, the German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (“Federal DPA”) levied a € 9.55m fine against 1&1 Telecom (“1&1”), a German telecom company. On 11 November 2020, the Regional Court (Landgericht) of Bonn (the “Court”) slashed the fine to just € 900,000, on the basis that it was disproportionate. The … Continue reading
On 6 October 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) published two decisions that further define the permitted scope of governmental access to personal data. These decisions are relevant in two key areas: Complying with the Schrems II judgement: The judgment provides some guidance on how organisations should undertake the “case-by-case assessments” … Continue reading
Following the Singapore Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) and the Personal Data Protection Commission of Singapore (PDPC) public consultation in May this year (Public Consultation), the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Bill (Bill) was introduced and had its first reading in Parliament on 5 October 2020. The Bill introduces five key changes to the Personal … Continue reading
On 1 October 2020, the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (Landesbeauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit) of Hamburg (the DPA) imposed a fine of EUR 35.3 million under the GDPR against the German subsidiary of the fashion retailer H&M. The German subsidiary operates a central service centre in Nuremberg. The DPA found … Continue reading
On September 15, 2020, the New York Attorney General (NYAG) announced a proposed settlement with Dunkin’ Brands, relating to brute force and credential stuffing attacks against members’ online accounts (including stored value cards). Dunkin’ does not admit or deny any of the NYAG’s allegations in the complaint. (New York v. Dunkin’ Brands, No. 451787/2019 (N.Y. … Continue reading
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has today published its decision in the landmark case, known as Schrems II. While Privacy Shield has been completely invalidated, the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) remain valid, but the court has emphasised obligations on the parties to the SCCs and Data Protection Authorities which have the … Continue reading
In a judgment which will be warmly welcomed by employers (and their insurers) in the UK, the UK Supreme Court today overruled the Court of Appeal in holding that that Morrisons supermarkets is not vicariously liable for a data breach maliciously caused by a former employee.… Continue reading
Quebec’s minister of justice announced her intention to introduce a bill aimed at modernizing the privacy regime provided by the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector.… Continue reading
Happy Data Privacy Day! Data Privacy Day represents a timely opportunity to highlight anticipated significant developments in Canadian privacy law in 2020 that we are monitoring following two major developments from the Government of Canada.… Continue reading
On September 23, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) announced, following consultation with stakeholders, that it will maintain the position set out in its 2009 guidelines that an organization’s transfer of personal information to a third party for processing, including a transfer across the Canadian border, is a “use” of that personal … Continue reading
The GDPR has significantly altered the landscape of data protection. Its broad scope and potentially severe penalties have forced those who hold and process data to take note of its provisions. In certain instances, that will include many in the international arbitration community, such as arbitral institutions. In parallel, cyber attacks and instances of hacking … Continue reading
The Wall Street Journal reported that Federal Trade Commission and Facebook reached a settlement to resolve Facebook’s privacy issues.… Continue reading
Following the now famous €50m fine imposed on Google LLC in January 2019,[1] the French Data Protection Authority (the CNIL) published a decision taken on 28 May 2019[2] imposing a fine of €400,000 on SERGIC, a company specialised in real estate development, purchase, sale, rental and property management.… Continue reading
On June 13, 2019 Measures for Personal Data Cross-Border Transfer Security Assessments were issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China.… Continue reading
In the absence of federal action, states have been actively passing new and expanded requirements for privacy and cybersecurity (see some examples here and here). While laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) are getting all the attention, many states are actively amending their breach notification laws. Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New … Continue reading
Cookies Are One Piece of a Larger Puzzle There has been an odd preoccupation with cookies for some time now—to the exclusion of other forms of browser tracking, some of which are much more flexible and more robust in their data collection capabilities than cookies. Despite this fact, these other, non-cookie tracking technologies are often … Continue reading
In a significant recent decision, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) altered the regulatory landscape when moving personal information between affiliated companies and across Canada’s border for data processing or storage purposes. Any organization governed by the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) will have to re-evaluate and likely … Continue reading
The Supreme Court has granted Morrisons to appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Morrison Supermarkets PLC v Various Claimants.… Continue reading
On November 21, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court broke new ground by holding that employers have a legal duty to take reasonable care to safeguard its employees’ sensitive personal information from cyberattacks. … Continue reading
On November 23, 2018, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) issued highly anticipated draft Guidelines (the “Guidelines”) on the territorial scope of the GDPR. See our previous blog posts on the GDPR here and here. The Guidelines provide some clarity around the scope and applicability of the GDPR to data Controllers and Processors both inside … Continue reading
On November 30, 2018 the Cyber Security Protection Bureau, under the auspices of the PRC Ministry of Public Security (the “MPS”), issued a draft Guideline for Internet Personal Information Security Protection (the “Guideline”) along with a request for public comments.… Continue reading
The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision of the High Court holding that an employer can be vicariously liable for data breaches caused by the actions of an employee, even where the employee’s actions were specifically intended to harm the employer. This decision is significant as it means a company can be held liable … Continue reading
Like many organizations in Canada, yours is probably not fully prepared for the mandatory breach reporting requirements coming into force under the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) November 1, 2018. Here are three measures your organization ought to take in preparation for mandatory breach reporting: 1. Implement internal breach reporting and … Continue reading