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In a highly-anticipated landmark judgment handed down on July 16, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU”) in Data Protection Commissioner v. Facebook Ireland and Maximillian Schrems (“Schrems II”, summarised in part 3. below and the full text of which can be accessed here) has:

  • invalidated the European Commission Decision 2016/1250 on the adequacy of the protection provided by the EU-U.S. Data Protection Shield (the “EU-US Privacy Shield”) for transfer of personal data from the EU to entities certified under the mechanism located in the United States;
  • upheld the European Commission Decision 2010/87 on standard contractual clauses for the transfer of personal data to processors established outside the EU (the “SCCs”); and
  • reminded that a transfer of data based on SCCs may be challenged before the competent supervisory authority, which has to “suspend or prohibit”, on a case-by-case basis, any such transfer when, in its view, the SCCs “are not or cannot be complied with.”

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Continue Reading Schrems II: The CJEU Declares EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Invalid, Upholds the SCCs And Calls On 27 Supervisory Authorities to Ensure Their Compliance

On May 4, 2020 the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) updated the guidelines on consent under the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (the “GDPR”). The guidelines were originally published by the Article 29 Working Party on April 10, 2018 and later endorsed by the EDPB.[1] The full text of the updated EDPB guidelines can be read here.
Continue Reading Cookie Walls and Scrolling Don’t Make the Grade – EDPB Clarifies Guidance on Consent Under GDPR

On April 28, 2020, the Belgian data protection authority (the Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit / Autorité de protection des données, the “Belgian DPA”), handed down a decision imposing a €50,000 fine on Proximus, Belgium’s largest telecommunications operator, on the ground that Proximus had failed to protect its data protection officer (“DPO”) from conflicts…

On February 19, 2020 the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) published its second statement on privacy in the context of corporate transactions.

The statement, the full text of which can be read here, highlights the existence of concerns related to the combination and accumulation of sensitive personal data and the possibility that such combinations could result in a high level of risk to the fundamental rights to privacy and  the protection of personal data.
Continue Reading EDPB Publishes Statement on Privacy Implications of M&A Transactions

In 2019, boards and senior management across a range of industries continued to cite cybersecurity as one of the most significant risks facing their companies.

At the same time, comprehensive data privacy regulation became a new reality in the United States as many companies implemented major revisions to their privacy policies and data systems to…

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) issued its first penalty notice under the GDPR in December 2019.  Despite publishing notices of its intention to fine Marriott and British Airways in July 2019, the ICO has not yet taken its final enforcement action in these cases (and it is understood that the ICO has granted an extension for representations by the companies, until March 2020).  The £275,000 fine levied on Doorstep Dispensaree, a pharmaceutical company that provides various prescription medicines to care homes in the UK, therefore provides the first insight into the ICO’s approach to administrative fines under the GDPR (as further described below).
Continue Reading UK ICO Finally Issues GDPR Fine

The European Commission (the “EC”) has published (see link here) slides from its Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom regarding the future relationship with the UK, in connection with personal data protection. The slides discuss a possible “adequacy” decision for the UK’s data protection regime, to be delivered by the EC by the end of the “transition period” which, under the draft Agreement on the Withdrawal of the UK from the EU (the “Withdrawal Agreement”), is currently envisaged to be December 31, 2020.

The slides were used for internal “preparatory discussions” and were presented on January 10, 2020 to the European Council’s Ad hoc Working Party on Article 50. The slides are not binding and are stated as being for “presentational and information purposes only”.
Continue Reading European Commission Provides Further Hints at Post-Brexit Adequacy Decision for the UK

On November 21, 2019, the French data protection authority (the “Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés” or “CNIL”) imposed a €500,000 fine on Futura Internationale, a midsized French company, for serious infringements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”) in connection with cold calling campaigns.[1]…
Continue Reading French Regulator Fines Futura Internationale €500,000 for Infringements of the GDPR in Connection With Telephone Advertising Campaigns

On October 1, 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a decision outlining the requirements for a user to consent to a service provider’s use of cookies.[1],  The Court held that active consent is required, and thus requiring a user to deselect a pre-checked tracking cookie notice in order to disallow the use of cookies does not sufficiently constitute consent to the collection and use of data under EU law.
Continue Reading The Way the Cookie Crumbles: CJEU Clarifies European Data Protection Rules for the Use of Cookies