Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) is considered the most comprehensive law governing the processing of biometric data. Passed in 2008, BIPA sets out requirements for private entities, including employers, that collect, use, store, and share biometric information. It’s also one of the most popular class action suits today – hundreds, if not thousands of … 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
On March 10, 2020, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) issued guidance to all of its regulated institutions engaged in virtual currency business activity, requiring them to have plans for preparedness to manage the possible operational and financial risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. NYDFS requires the plans to be submitted by Thursday, April 9, … 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
Recent legal action by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) will shed light on the Federal Court’s willingness to enforce and monitor compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). On February 6, the OPC filed a notice of application (the Application) in the Federal Court seeking a declaration … Continue reading
The Grand Chamber of the ECHR held that Spanish shop workers’ right to privacy under Article 8(1) of the ECHR was not violated when their employer obtained evidence of theft from covert CCTV footage of the employees.… Continue reading
On 1 October 2019, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered its judgement on Case C – 673/17 (the “Planet49” case), which relates to the consent and transparency requirements for the use of cookies and similar technologies. The ECJ largely followed the March 2019 Opinion of Advocate General Szpunar and the judgment is generally consistent … Continue reading
On 24 September 2019 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) gave two judgments (Cases C-507/17 and C-136/17) ruling that: (i) de-referencing by Google should be limited to EU Member States’ versions of its search engine with some important qualifications; and (ii) when Google receives a request for de-referencing relating to a link … 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
Five years after the commencement of legal proceedings against Google by leading French consumer association UFC Que Choisir, the Paris “Tribunal de Grande Instance” (TGI), in a decision dated 12 February 2019, issued its ruling on the legality of the Google+ Terms of Use and Privacy Rules, both with respect to consumer law and personal … Continue reading
The opinion includes whether consent is ‘freely given’ pursuant to the ePrivacy-Directive and GDPR and insight on what constitutes ‘informed consent.'… Continue reading
On January 3, 2019, the federal trial court in Manhattan issued a preliminary injunction, temporarily halting a new local law aimed at required disclosures by home-sharing platforms, such as Airbnb and HomeAway, to the city.… Continue reading
In a recent decision, a California federal court held that an arbitration provision contained in Viacom, Inc.’s browsewrap agreement was unenforceable and denied Viacom’s request to stay the case pending arbitration.[1] The court’s decision in Rushing v. Viacom, Inc. is consistent with “courts’ traditional reluctance to enforce browsewrap agreements against individual consumers.”[2]… Continue reading
A judgment handed down today by the English High Court will be welcomed by UK data controllers. Lloyd v Google [2018] EWHC 2599 represents a corollary to recent case law expanding the circumstances in which litigation may be brought in relation to breaches of data protection legislation. Most notably, the case: reinforces the need for … Continue reading
On June 22, 2018, the US Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision in Carpenter v. United States, holding that the federal government needs a warrant to access cellphone location records. In the decision, the Court agreed that there should be a higher standard for accessing location records due to their intrusive nature.… Continue reading
On March 8, 2018, the Ninth Circuit issued its highly anticipated decision in In re Zappos.com, Inc., finding that allegations of future risk of identity theft from a data breach are sufficient to confer standing. This decision fuels an ongoing circuit split, pitting the D.C., Sixth, Seventh and now Ninth Circuits against the Second, Fourth, … Continue reading
On March 16, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued its decision on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) omnibus order of 2015, relating to challenges to four of the FCC’s determinations relating to cell phones. The appellate court upheld the FCC’s determinations that consumers can revoke consent to receive … Continue reading
The High Court in London has handed down a judgment establishing that, as a matter of English law, a company can be held vicariously liable in respect of data breaches caused by its employees.… Continue reading
The German federal labor court held in a recent decision (Bundesarbeitsgericht, 27 July 2017 – case no. 2 AZR 681/16) that the use of evidence obtained through the use of key logger software is not permitted under current German privacy law, if there is no suspicion of a criminal offense. Such monitoring is only allowed … Continue reading
Given the stakes if sensitive data is breached, the customer may insist that a vendor use its "best efforts" to protect its data. But one rarely sees a "best efforts" clause in a technology contract, especially with respect to data protection.… Continue reading
In Beck v. McDonald, the 4th US Court of Appeals joined at least 5 other circuits in analyzing whether mere allegations of future identity theft can establish injury-in-fact as required to confer Article III standing. … Continue reading
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania last month dismissed a class action lawsuit, Dittman v. UPMC, brought by employees of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (“UPMC”) for a 2014 data breach. The breach impacted nearly 62,000 UPMC employees and resulted in at least 788 fraudulent tax filings. The court held that UPMC had no duty to … Continue reading
Under the UK Data Protection Act 1998 (“DPA“), data subjects have rights to obtain copies of their personal information through a data subject access request (“DSAR“). Data subjects frequently use DSARs to obtain information in the context of non-data protection disputes with data controllers. There has been much controversy over this practice, particularly as the … Continue reading
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals last week reversed the district court’s approval of a settlement and settlement class in the consolidated consumer class action arising from Target Corporation’s 2013 security incident. This decision provided a new perspective on a persistent dilemma in the evolving law of data breaches: how to handle data breach victims … Continue reading