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On March 20, 2018, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP issued a factsheet outlining relevant GDPR provisions for negotiations surrounding the proposed ePrivacy Regulation (the “Factsheet”). Continue Reading CIPL Issues Factsheet on Key Issues Relating to the Relationship Between the Proposed ePrivacy Regulation and the GDPR

On March 8, 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (“Ninth Circuit”) reversed a decision from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. The trial court found that one subclass of plaintiffs in In re Zappos.Com, Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, had not sufficiently alleged injury in fact to establish Article III standing. The opinion focused on consumers who did not allege that any fraudulent charges had been made using their identities, despite hackers accessing their names, account numbers, passwords, email addresses, billing and shipping addresses, telephone numbers, and credit and debit card information in a 2012 data breach.  Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Reverses District Court Decision in Zappos Consumer Data Breach Case

On February 1, 2018, the Singapore Personal Data Protection Commission (the “PDPC”) published its response to feedback collected during a public consultation process conducted during the late summer and fall of 2017 (the “Response”). During that public consultation, the PDPC circulated a proposal relating to two general topics: (1) the relevance of two new alternative bases for collecting, using and disclosing personal data (“Notification of Purpose” and “Legal or Business Purpose”), and (2) a mandatory data breach notification requirement. The PDPC invited feedback from the public on these topics. Continue Reading Singapore PDPC Issues Response to Public Feedback Regarding Data Protection Consultation

On January 25, 2018, the Standardization Administration of China published the full text of the Information Security Technology – Personal Information Security Specification (the “Specification”). The Specification will come into effect on May 1, 2018. The Specification is voluntary, but could become influential within China because it establishes benchmarks for the processing of personal information by a wide variety of entities and organizations. In effect, the Specification constitutes a best practices guide for the collection, retention, use, sharing and transfer of personal information, and for the handling of related information security incidents. Continue Reading China Releases National Standard on Personal Information Security

On January 24, 2018, the European Commission issued a communication to the European Parliament and the Council (the “Communication”) on the direct application of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The Communication (1) recounts novel elements of the GDPR that create stronger protections for individuals and new opportunities for organizations, (2) reviews preparatory work undertaken to date for GDPR implementation, (3) outlines remaining steps for successful preparation and (4) outlines measures the European Commission intends to take up until May 25, 2018. Continue Reading EU Commission Releases Communication on Remaining Issues for GDPR Preparation

On January 10, 2018, the Law of 3 December 2017 creating the Data Protection Authority (the “Law”) was published in the Belgian Official Gazette (available in French and Dutch). The Law was submitted in the Chamber of Representatives on August 23, 2017, and was approved by the Parliament in plenary meeting on November 16, 2017. Continue Reading Belgium Adopts Law Reforming the Belgian Privacy Commission

On January 8, 2017, the UK Information Commissioner (“ICO”) issued an unprecedented monetary penalty of £400,000 against British mobile phone retailer, The Car Phone Warehouse Limited. Following an attack on their system in 2015, the ICO found that the company had failed to take adequate steps to protect the personal data it held on its system. Continue Reading UK ICO Issues Unprecedented Fine Against Mobile Phone Retailer for Lax Security

On January 9, 2018, the FTC issued a paper recapping the key takeaways from the FTC’s and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s June 2017 workshop on privacy and security issues involving connected cars. The workshop featured representatives from consumer groups, industry, government and academia. Continue Reading FTC Recaps Connected Cars Privacy and Security Workshop

On December 12, 2017, the Article 29 Working Party (“Working Party”) published its guidelines on transparency under Regulation 2016/679 (the “Guidelines”). The Guidelines aim to provide practical guidance and clarification on the transparency obligations introduced by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The transparency obligations require controllers to provide certain information to data subjects regarding the processing of their personal data. Continue Reading Article 29 Working Party Published Guidelines on Transparency under the GDPR

Recently, the EU’s Article 29 Working Party (”Working Party”) held a plenary meeting to discuss, among other things, the implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield. As well as adopting its first Joint Annual Review Report on the Privacy Shield, the Working Party has been working on a number of documents that offer review and/or guidance on the GDPR, including:

  • guidelines on (1) consent and transparency, (2) data protection certifications, and (3) derogations for personal data transfers under the GDPR;
  • updated “referentials” on adequacy and binding corporate rules for data controllers and processors; and
  • tools for cooperation between data protection authorities on data breach notifications.

Continue Reading Article 29 Working Party Meeting Sets Out State of Play on Privacy Initiatives