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
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
On 15 April 2019, the ICO opened a public consultation on a draft code of practice titled Age Appropriate Design (the “Code”). The Code will remain open for public consultation until 31 May 2019. The consultation document is described as a “code of practice for online services likely to be accessed by children.” However, its … Continue reading
On 12 April, the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) fined Bounty, a pregnancy and parent support club, £400,000 for illegally sharing personal data belonging to more than 14 million people. As the contravention took place just before the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force, the fine was issued under the Data Protection Act 1998 … 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
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
On January 25, 2019, the California Attorney General’s Office held a public forum in Los Angeles to solicit feedback on the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”) as it prepares to draft regulations which must be adopted on or before July 1, 2020.… Continue reading
On January 21,2019 the French data protection authority (the CNIL) imposed a major fine on the U.S. Google entity, Google LLC. It follows two complaints filed as soon as the GDPR came into force by two consumer rights associations, None of Your Business and La Quadrature du Net. We focus here on four key aspects … Continue reading
The two-year transitional period under the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) Cybersecurity Regulation, 23 NYCRR 500 (the “Regulation”), will expire on March 1, 2019, with the final remaining requirement becoming effective. Entities covered by the Regulation that utilize third party service providers, which include not only banks and insurers, but also other … 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
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
We are grateful to our clients and industry contacts for nominating us as cyber law firm of the year at the 2018 Insurance Insider Cyber Rankings Awards. The winner will be determined from the results of a wide-ranging survey of insurers and brokers and will be announced on September 21, 2018.… Continue reading
This is the Data Protection Report’s third blog post in a series of CCPA blog posts that will break down the major elements of the CCPA which will culminate in a webinar on the CCPA in October. This blog focuses on the CCPA’s broad definition of Personal Information. Stay tuned for additional blogs and information … Continue reading
Data protection laws in Asia continue to be introduced and updated. One of the most recent developments in South East Asia is in Thailand. On 22 May 2018, the Thai Cabinet approved in principle a revised draft of Thailand’s first personal data protection act (Draft Act). This Draft Act is currently under consideration by the … 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
On January 10, 2017, the EU Commission published a package of documents on the EU’s data economy strategy, including e-privacy, data protection and the “European Data Economy.” The Commission documents, published in the context of the Commission’s digital single market (“DSM”) initiative announced in May 2015, illustrate again the strong links between the EU’s digital … Continue reading
Learn how Facebook's "like" button is rapidly growing into a social marketing tool that is tracking users’ IP addresses, browser strings and more. … Continue reading
The FCC announced last week that it reached a settlement with Verizon Wireless (“Verizon”) over its use of “supercookies.” More specifically, the FCC alleged that Verizon inserted unique identifiers into the headers of its customers’ HTTP requests to support its targeted advertising programs, and that customers had not consented to this practice. In this post, we … Continue reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ordered nine companies to file Special Reports detailing how they assess their clients’ compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). Payment card issuing companies require businesses that process over one million card transactions per year to undergo PCI DSS compliance assessments, or audits, performed by PCI Qualified … Continue reading
On November 9, 2015, the President of the Brussels Court of First Instance ordered Facebook to stop tracking non-members in Belgium without their consent. The court imposed a penalty of EUR 250,000 per day for non-compliance. The proceeding is the result of a formal recommendation that the Belgian Privacy Commission (BPC) issued in May 2015 … Continue reading
In re: Google Inc. Cookie Placement Consumer Privacy Litigation, involves 24 consolidated lawsuits that were initially brought against several internet advertisers alleging violations of various state and federal privacy statutes, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Wiretap Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. In October of 2013, the District of Delaware dismissed … Continue reading
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