On October 2, 2019, the UK Court of Appeal handed down its judgment on the appeal in Richard Lloyd v. Google LLC, in which Richard Lloyd, a consumer protection advocate, seeks to bring a representative action on behalf of four million Apple iPhone users against Google LLC in the United States. Previously, the High Court had refused to grant permission for the proceedings to be served outside the UK. The Court of Appeal reversed the High Court’s judgment, granting permission for service outside the UK and allowing the representative action to proceed. The judgment is significant as it paves the way for representative actions (equivalent to class actions) for data protection infringements in the UK.
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CJEU Rules “Right to be Forgotten” on Google Limited to the EU in Landmark Case
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On September 24, 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union released its judgments in cases C-507/17, Google v. CNIL and C-136/17, G.C. and Others v. CNIL regarding (1) the territorial scope of the right to be forgotten, and (2) the conditions in which individuals may exercise the right to be forgotten in relation to links to web pages containing sensitive data.…
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Irish Data Protection Commissioner Appointed to Second Term
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On May 27, 2019, the Irish government announced that Helen Dixon, who currently serves as Irish Data Protection Commissioner, was appointed to a second five-year term in her position. Her reappointment was approved by a May 27 Cabinet vote. …
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CNIL Fines Google €50 Million for Alleged GDPR Violations
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On January 21, 2019, the CNIL imposed a fine of €50 million on Google LLC under the GDPR, its first fine under the GDPR and the highest fine imposed by a supervisory authority within the EU under the GDPR to date.…
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Google Granted Permission to Appeal to the UK Supreme Court
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On July 28, 2015, the UK Supreme Court announced its decision to grant permission in part for Google to appeal the England and Wales Court of Appeal’s decision in Google Inc. v Vidal-Hall and Others. …
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UK Court Ruling Allows Claims Against Google for Misuse of Private Information
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Posted in European Union, International
The Court of Appeal in the UK held that there is a tort of “misuse of private information,” and that victims may recover damages without showing financial loss. …
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Article 29 Working Party Issues Opinion on the Implementation of the CJEU Ruling in Costeja
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On November 26, 2014, the Article 29 Working Party published an Opinion setting out guidelines on the implementation of the Court of Justice of the European Union ruling in Costeja, and common criteria for the handling of related complaints by European data protection authorities.…
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Article 29 Working Party to Establish a Common Approach on the Right to be Forgotten for All EU Data Protection Authorities
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Posted in European Union, International
On September 18, 2014, the Article 29 Working Party announced its decision to establish a common approach to the right to be forgotten, a tool-box to be used by all EU data protection authorities to help address complaints from search engine users whose requests to delete search result links containing their personal data were refused by the search engines. The development of the tool-box follows the Working Party’s June 2014 meeting discussing the consequences of the European Court of Justice’s judgment in Costeja of May 13, 2014.…
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FTC Settles with Google for Kids’ In-App Purchases
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On September 4, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced a proposed settlement with Google Inc. (“Google”) stemming from allegations that the company unfairly billed consumers for mobile app charges incurred by children. The FTC’s complaint alleges that since 2011, Google violated the FTC Act’s prohibition on unfair commercial practices by billing consumers for in-app charges made by children without the authorization of the account holder.…
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FTC Releases Staff Report Recommending Transparency Improvements for Mobile Shopping Apps
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On August 1, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission released a new staff report examining the consumer protection implications of popular mobile device applications that provide shopping and in-store purchase services.…
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