The Dutch Data Protection Authority (the “Dutch DPA”) issued a €4.75 million (approximately $5 million USD) fine on Netflix in connection with a data access investigation that started in 2019. The investigation arose out of a complaint was filed by nonprofit privacy and digital rights organization, noyb, which is run by European privacy campaigner
European Commission Adopts Adequacy Decision for EU-US Data Privacy Framework
On July 10, 2023, the European Commission adopted its adequacy decision for the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (Framework). The adequacy decision concludes the long process to open up new means by which companies transfer personal data from the European Economic Area (EEA) to the United States.
The Framework will be administered by the US Department
2023 Privacy and Data Security Preview
2022 proved to be an historic year for privacy and data security. Connecticut and Utah joined the list of states that have now passed comprehensive data privacy laws, bringing the total to five (5) states. For the first time, federal privacy legislation advanced to a House Subcommittee, and though the American Data Privacy and Protection
The Cost of a Click: Microsoft fined 60 Million Euros by French Privacy Watchdog for French Data Protection Act Violations
On December 22, 2022, France’s National Commission for Technology and Freedoms (“CNIL”) fined Microsoft’s Irish subsidiary 60 million euro for failure to comply with Article 82 of the French Data Protection Law (known as the “Loi Informatique et Libertés”). Article 82 is France’s implementation of the EU’s ePrivacy Directive, and it generally requires that any
European Court Puts the Brakes on AML Directive: Public Access to Beneficial Ownership Database Violates European Privacy Laws
Ruling Could Influence FinCEN in Forthcoming Regulations Under the CTA
On November 22nd, an appeals court in Luxembourg issued a decision that highlights the tensions between anti-money laundering (“AML”) goals and privacy concerns, and could impact impending beneficial ownership regulations to be issued under the U.S. Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”). Specifically, the appeals court decided
The European Commission’s Adoption of New SCCs
On June 4, 2021, the European Commission adopted an updated and long-awaited set of standard contractual clauses (SCCs) for the international transfer of personal data. The previous SCCs were created prior to the implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and required substantive revisions to bring them in line with the GDPR and the Court of Justice of the European Union’s July 2020 Schrems II decision (previously covered here).
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Privacy Shield Invalidated by the European Court of Justice
On July 16, 2020, the European Court of Justice (Court) ruled in the “Schrems II” case that the one of the most commonly used cross border data transfer mechanisms between the European Union (EU) and the United States (US), the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework (Privacy Shield), has been invalidated. The Court reasoned that when transferring
EDPB Clarifies Privacy Rules for COVID-19
The successful management of COVID-19 relies on the quick analysis and collection of health data, which can raise privacy issues particularly in the European Union. In order to help data controllers manage their COVID-19 response plans under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other EU privacy laws, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) released a statement discussing how governments and companies can process personal data in response to COVID-19.
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Making Sense of EU Cookie Law in the Wake of CJEU’s Planet49 Ruling
The perplexing question of what U.S. companies must do to comply with EU “cookie” law became slightly more clear with the recent decision of the European Court of Justice (CJEU) in Planet49 GmbH, but numerous questions still remain. A main source of confusion about cookies is the interplay between two EU privacy laws, the
Cookie Audit from Bavarian Data Protection Authority May Serve As GDPR Warning
Following numerous privacy complaints, the State Office for Data Protection Supervision (BayLDA) recently conducted a random audit on 40 companies and found widespread problems with their cookie disclosures. The purpose of the audit was to determine whether website users were able to obtain transparent information regarding the use and tracking of their information by third-party