Tag archives: Privacy

Reports suggest US-EU agreement on cross-border data transfers near, but will it stick?

By on October 29, 2015 Posted in Regulatory response

Data Protection Report - Norton Rose Fulbright

It is being reported that the EU and the US have reached an agreement in principle on the revised cross-border data transfer framework, commonly referred to as Safe Harbor 2.0. Both sides expect further progress on the specifics in November of this year. Some of the thornier issues, however,regarding US surveillance activities, that are critical to addressing the concerns … Continue reading

Five new privacy laws on tap in California

By on October 23, 2015 Posted in Regulatory response

This month, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law five new privacy bills that the Governor said are intended to strengthen data protections for the state’s residents. The laws, effective as of January 1, 2016, implement California’s Electronic Communications Privacy Act and amend the state’s breach notification statute, among other things. In this post, our Data Protection, Privacy … Continue reading

WP29 Issues Post-Safe Harbor Guidance

By Marcus Evans (UK), Jamie Nowak (DE) and Jay Modrall (BE) on October 16, 2015 Posted in General

The following is the statement of WP29 on the Schrems decision. It is a short opinion that we replicated here in full. We note that WP29 appears to suggest that model clauses and BCRs remain viable through at least January 2016, which is when WP29 would like to see the US and EU agree to a … Continue reading

Schrems: ECJ invalidates the Commission’s Safe Harbor Decision

By Marcus Evans (UK), Jay Modrall (BE) and Jamie Nowak (DE) on October 6, 2015 Posted in Compliance and risk management

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Case C-362/14 (the Schrems case) earlier today, 6 October 2015. In its ruling, the ECJ – among other things – held that the EU Commission’s “US Safe Harbor” decision is invalid.… Continue reading

Schrems Counterpoint: ECJ has good reasons to reject Safe Harbor invalidation

By Jay Modrall (BE) and Marcus Evans (UK) on October 1, 2015 Posted in Regulatory response

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is expected to rule on Case C-362/14 (the “Schrems” case) on October 6, 2015. In deciding whether to reject or adopt its Advocate General’s recommendation to invalidate the US-EU Safe Harbor, the ECJ finds itself between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Rejecting the Safe Harbor would lead to uncertainty in the ongoing … Continue reading

European Court of Justice Advocate General’s Advisory Opinion in Schrems case questions validity of personal data transfers under EU/US Safe Harbor framework

By Marcus Evans (UK) on September 24, 2015 Posted in Compliance and risk management, General

On September 22, 2015, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) Advocate General issued an advisory Opinion in Case C-362/14 (the “Schrems” case). A key recommendation was for the ECJ to declare the EU/US Safe Harbor Agreement invalid. It remains to be seen whether the ECJ will follow this recommendation. The controversial nature of the Safe … Continue reading

Dutch Data Protection Authority publishes consultation version of guidelines on breach notice law

By Floortje Nagelkerke (NL) and Nikolai de Koning (NL) on September 24, 2015 Posted in Compliance and risk management, Data breach

On the heels of the enactment of the Dutch breach notice law, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (CBP) published a consultation document with draft guidelines on the breach notice obligation of data controllers in the Netherlands. Under the law, data controllers are required to provide notice of data breaches to the CBP and, under certain circumstances, to … Continue reading

Former Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddard to headline a privacy event at Norton Rose Fulbright’s Montreal office

By on September 23, 2015 Posted in General

On September 25, 2015, Jennifer Stoddard will visit Norton Rose Fulbright in Montreal to discuss the proposed sweeping reforms to Quebec’s legislation governing access to information and protection of personal information in the public sector. These reforms include proactive publication of government information at all levels, including studies and statistics in health and education and … Continue reading

Canada’s federal, British Columbia and Alberta privacy commissioners issue BYOD guidance

By Veronique Barry (CA) on September 20, 2015 Posted in Regulatory response

As the line between work and home becomes increasingly blurred, the federal, British Columbia and Alberta privacy commissioners have issued joint guidelines to help organizations reduce the risks of privacy breaches with respect to employers’ data accessed from employee-owned devices (EODs), while also securing employees’ privacy rights regarding any personal information stored on EODs.… Continue reading

Congress fails to act on cybersecurity information sharing act

By on August 7, 2015 Posted in Regulatory response

The relatively short turnaround of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA or the “Act”) has proved challenging, as a vote initially intended for this week will have to wait until the Senate’s September session, at the earliest.… Continue reading

Russia signs controversial “right to be forgotten” bill into law

By Vera Shaftan (RU) on July 23, 2015 Posted in Regulatory response

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law the “right to be forgotten” legislation, which allows individuals in Russia to demand removal of a search engine’s links to personal information deemed irrelevant or inadequate. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2016.… Continue reading

The Security, Privacy and Legal Implications of the Internet of Things (“IoT”) Part one – The Context and Use of IoT

By on May 19, 2015 Posted in Compliance and risk management, Data breach

Disrupted, yet again. The world is fast preparing for the invasion of objects connected to the Internet, otherwise known as the Internet of Things (“IoT”). IoT is here, and it will revolutionize how both individuals and corporations interact with the world. In this multi-part series we will explore this quickly evolving revolution and the privacy … Continue reading

Energy cybersecurity – a critical concern for the nation

By on April 9, 2015 Posted in Compliance and risk management, General, Regulatory response

We have long recognized that effects of cyber-attacks are not limited to the virtual space, and can affect our physical environment. For example, a stolen trade secret may lead to a competitor who copies the design, to lost sales, to lost jobs. However, the relationship between cybersecurity and physical security is far more direct and … Continue reading

Ontario Court of Appeal finds patients’ common law privacy rights not preempted by statute; allows class action to proceed

By on February 25, 2015 Posted in Dispute resolution and litigation, General

In a recent case involving a breach of patients’ privacy rights — Hopkins v Kay,[i] — the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that a proposed class action could proceed based on allegations of violation of patients’ common law privacy rights, concluding that those rights were not preempted by the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). … Continue reading

German draft bill to authorize privacy “class actions”

By Jamie Nowak (DE) and Christoph Ritzer (DE) on February 23, 2015 Posted in Compliance and risk management

The German government recently released a draft bill seeking to grant authority to the country’s consumer and business associations to enforce compliance with data protection laws. Because the proposed draft bill appears to have received support from the governing parties, we believe there is a high probability of the bill being enacted in the near … Continue reading

White House presses for robust sharing of cyber-threat information

By Susan Ross (US) on February 18, 2015 Posted in Compliance and risk management, General

On February 13, 2015, President Obama spoke forcefully on cybersecurity threats at the Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection Summit, and signed an Executive Order designed to encourage the sharing of cyber-threat information through the formation of “hubs” – Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations (ISAOs). The President observed that much of the United States’ critical infrastructure runs … Continue reading

Importance of data privacy and transparency in the UK highlighed by Investigatory Powers Tribunal decision

By Marcus Evans (UK) on February 17, 2015 Posted in General

A recent landmark ruling from the UK’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal has highlighted the growing importance the UK courts place on data privacy and transparency. It is the first occasion that the Investigatory Powers Tribunal has upheld part of a complaint against the intelligence agencies since it was set up in 2000. On February 6, 2015 … Continue reading

Privacy action in Russia indicates enforcement focus on Western companies

By Vera Shaftan (RU) on February 15, 2015 Posted in General, Regulatory response

According to news reports in Russia, the Russian Federation’s data protection authority – Roscomnadzor – may be targeting Western companies for enforcement action. What appears to be the first enforcement action of this kind is directed at Twitter. At the heart of the action is an assertion by the head of Roscomnadzor that, while Twitter … Continue reading

SEC’s cyber preparedness priorities on display in the agency’s cybersecurity examination initiative

By on February 12, 2015 Posted in Compliance and risk management, Regulatory response

Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) published a Risk Alert that summarized findings from the agency’s examinations of the practices employed by financial service firms to address cybersecurity risks. The focus and results of the OCIE’s evaluation offer firms insight into the types of information security and … Continue reading

Anthem breach poses significant cybersecurity risks for Anthem’s customers; may trigger legal obligations

By on February 8, 2015 Posted in Compliance and risk management, Data breach

Organizations whose employees are insured by Anthem or whose self-insured health plans are administered by Anthem should consider steps to mitigate the cybersecurity and legal risk arising from the breach recently reported by Anthem. The hackers who perpetrated the Anthem breach are likely to use the personal information they took for further cyberattacks against affected … Continue reading

China requires providers to enforce real-name registration and ban on “harmful” usernames

By Barbara Li (CN) on February 6, 2015 Posted in Compliance and risk management, General, Regulatory response

The Cyberspace Administration of China announced on February 4, 2015 new regulations requiring Internet users to register accounts under their real names for social network sites like blogs, discussion forums, comment sections, instant messaging, and related services. The rules impose the obligation to enforce the restrictions on affected businesses, including Western companies operating in China. The new regulations come … Continue reading

Cybersecurity incident notification bill introduced in the Netherlands

By Floortje Nagelkerke (NL) and Nikolai de Koning (NL) on January 30, 2015 Posted in Compliance and risk management, Data breach, General

On January 22, 2015, the Netherlands proposed legislation introducing breach notification requirements for critical infrastructure industries, including utilities (electricity, gas and drinking water), telecom, financial services, government (surface-water management bodies) and transport (main ports Rotterdam and Schiphol airport). The proposed law would require notification in the event of a breach of security or loss of … Continue reading

Employee privacy regulations on the agenda for Abu Dhabi Global Market

By on January 29, 2015 Posted in General

Omnibus data privacy laws are few and far between in the Middle East. None of the six states of the Gulf Co-Operation Council (GCC)—which comprises Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates—have issued national privacy legislation, although several have draft regulations under consideration. By contrast, the financial “free zone” jurisdictions of … Continue reading

Encryption of patient personal information to be the law of the land in New Jersey

By on January 28, 2015 Posted in General

Following a number of reports of theft and misplacement of computer disks, laptops, and thumb drives containing unencrypted patient information from New Jersey medical centers, the New Jersey state legislature enacted a law on January 9, 2015, which prohibits health insurance carriers from electronically compiling and maintaining certain patient information unless that information has been … Continue reading