Points to note on the European Commission’s questions and answers on the Revised Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)
Posted in GeneralTopic: General
Subscribe to General RSS feed Posted in GeneralEDPB publishes guidance on calculating GDPR fines
Posted in GeneralUK proposes rules to protect against anonymous online trolls
Posted in General
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
SMO v TikTok: representative actions post Lloyd v Google
Posted in GeneralThe EU’s Data Act: Capstone of the EU Data Strategy
Posted in General
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
Privacy in a Parallel Digital Universe: The Metaverse
Posted in General, Metaverse, PIPEDA, Privacy law
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
Where data meets IP – Derivative data in M&A transactions
Posted in Data Transfer, General, Intellectual Property
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
Are you critical? Amendments to the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act (2018) dramatically expand its scope and impact across Australian industry
Posted in GeneralIntroduction 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
Transfer data outside of China: New security review regulation companies should know
Posted in GeneralThe 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
Good news for data controllers: Lloyd v Google Supreme Court decision
Posted in General
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
A Tale of Two Cities: The Right of Private Action in Data Protection in Singapore and Hong Kong
Where data meets IP – protecting business data in a commercial context
Posted in Data Transfer, General, Intellectual Property
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
US Senate considers mandating 24-hour reporting requirement for ransom payments
Posted in Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, General, RansomwareOn 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 National AI Strategy: Regulation, Data Protection and IPR in the Mix
Posted in General
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
UK Government sets out proposals to shake up UK data protection laws
Posted in Compliance and risk management, General
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
Where Data Meets IP
Posted in Data Transfer, General, Intellectual Property
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
The UK Government unveils its post-Brexit plans to shake up data protection laws
Posted in General, Privacy law, Regulatory responseOn 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
Ontario moves towards introducing new privacy law
Posted in General, PHIPA, PIPEDA, Privacy lawGiven global trends in the development of privacy laws and enforcement, Canada and several provinces are looking at modernizing their respective privacy regimes. Ontario’s new proposed privacy law, which would govern commercial activities more broadly than current legislation (i.e., our federal legislation, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and Ontario’s health privacy … Continue reading
China’s evolving data laws: PIPL likely to be passed soon
Posted in Cybersecurity, General
China’s much anticipated Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) is very likely to pass this month after the conclusion of the 30th meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, which is to be held in Beijing on 17-20 August. This follows the enactment earlier this year of the Data Security Law (DSL), which … Continue reading
Subject Access Request: Germany’s highest court widens the scope of data subject access requests in Germany
Posted in General, Regulatory response
Germany’s highest civil court, the Federal Court Of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, the FCJ), has just published a decision specifying the scope of data subject access requests (DSARs). The FCJ held that Article 15 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has a broader scope than previously understood in Germany. Pursuant to the court’s decision, Article 15 … Continue reading
Hong Kong: Bill to amend the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance to combat doxxing acts was gazetted today
Posted in GeneralThe Personal Data (Privacy) (Amendment) Bill 2021 (the Bill) was gazetted today, 16 July 2021. The Bill aims to combat doxxing acts through (i) criminalisation of doxxing acts; (ii) empowering the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data to conduct criminal investigation and institute prosecution for doxxing cases; and (iii) conferring on the Commissioner statutory powers to … Continue reading
EDPB cautiously welcomes UK adequacy finding
Posted in General, Regulatory response
Yesterday, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published its opinion on the European Commission’s draft Decision that the UK ensures an adequate level of protection for personal data (the Opinion). The Opinion was adopted by the EDPB on 13 April 2021, a couple of days before the Opinion’s official publication on 15 April 2021. The … Continue reading
EU Commission draft UK Data Protection Adequacy Decision published
Posted in Enforcement, General, Regulatory response
Following nine months of assessment of the UK’s data protection laws (including the rules on access to data by public authorities), the European Commission has today published its draft decision on the adequate protection of personal data by the United Kingdom. The draft decision can be found here. The draft decision is welcome news to … Continue reading
101 Problems and Schrems Ain’t One
Posted in General
Eureka! After burning the midnight oil, we’ve built an automated scanner to identify and sort the Schrems II risk of data flows for further legal handling. The scanner uses more than 20 different data points derived from network metadata to scan and classify data flows based on mass surveillance risk under the NSA’s so-called “Upstream” … Continue reading
