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On 24 November 2022, the UK government announced its adequacy decision for the Republic of Korea, which will allow UK organizations to share personal data with Korean organizations more freely under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”).…

Continue Reading The United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea Finalize Data Sharing Agreement

The Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) has opened a consultation on new draft guidance on monitoring at work (the “Draft Guidance”).  The Draft Guidance applies in both the private and public sectors in respect of any worker, a term which is used to include employees as well as non-employee workers, independent contractors and volunteers.
Continue Reading UK ICO Issues Draft Guidance on Monitoring at Work

On September 5, 2022, following the election of the new UK Prime Minister, the UK Government decided not to proceed with the second reading and other motions relating to the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (the “Bill”), which was due to have taken place on the same day.  According to the Leader of the House of Commons, this Bill was pulled as “to allow Ministers to consider the legislation further”.
Continue Reading UK’s Data Protection and Digital Information Bill: An Uncertain Direction

For those following data privacy and consumer data protection trends, it should come as no surprise that enacting comprehensive legislation to regulate companies’ use of personal data has continued to be a focal point both internationally and in the U.S., at the federal, state and local levels. …
Continue Reading Navigating the Complex Regulation of Privacy and Data Protection

On 10 November 2021, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom handed down its much-awaited judgment in the case of Lloyd v Google LLC [2021] UKSC 50.  The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the claim, which is a representative action alleging breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 (“DPA 1998”), could not proceed.

The Supreme…

Last month, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a motion to dismiss in In re Fed Ex Corp. Securities Litigation, a putative class action securities fraud case filed against FedEx following numerous disclosures in 2017 and 2018 regarding the impact of a Russian cyberattack on its recently acquired subsidiary, TNT Express Services B.V (“TNT”).[1]  The court held that the complaint failed to adequately plead that FedEx had made any material misrepresentations or had the requisite scienter.  FedEx’s successful defense against the lawsuit highlights the importance for companies to consider their disclosure obligations following a cyber-incident and carefully tailor their disclosures to account for their risks and accurately reflect the consequences of the incident.
Continue Reading District Court Dismisses Securities Fraud Claim Against FedEx Concerning Disclosures About NotPetya Cyberattack

In July 2019, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) issued two notices of intent (“NOIs”) to fine British Airways (“BA”) and Marriott International Inc. (“Marriott”) for violations of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), both related to high-profile personal data breaches. The NOIs proposed staggering fines of £183.39 million and £99.2 million, respectively, which would have constituted the largest penalties levied under the GDPR to date. More than a year later, the UK ICO finally issued the long-awaited penalty notices in relation to both investigations, imposing in both cases fines that, while still significant, were greatly reduced from what had initially been indicated – £20 million in the case of BA (a massive reduction of more than £163 million), and £18.4 million in the case of Marriott (an equally surprising reduction of more than £79 million).
Continue Reading UK ICO Data Breach Fines – What Can We Learn From British Airways and Marriott?

Main Takeaways

Recommendations 01/2020 of the European Data Protection Board (the “EDPB”) on measures that supplement transfer tools to ensure compliance with the EU level of protection of personal data (the “Recommendations”)[1] attempt to provide a step-by-step roadmap to help EU data exporters transfer personal data outside the EU to third countries in a manner consistent with the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU”) handed down on July 16, 2020, in Data Protection Commissioner v. Facebook Ireland and Maximillian Schrems (“Schrems II”, further described in Section 1 below).[2] The Recommendations were published on November 11, 2020 and can be relied upon immediately, even though they are subject to public consultation, with comments being due prior to December 21, 2020.
Continue Reading Recommendations of the EDPB Further to the CJEU’s Schrems II Judgment: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back?

The UK Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision delivered on April 1,[1] has overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal which had found that Morrisons Supermarkets plc (“Morrisons”) could be held vicariously liable for the unauthorized actions of an employee who had deliberately leaked the personal data of thousands of Morrisons’ employees online. In its judgment, the Supreme Court explained that the Court of Appeal had “misunderstood the principles governing vicarious liability”.[2] For more information on the background of this case and the High Court and Court of Appeal judgments, please see our article here. The full text of the Supreme Court judgment can be read here. …
Continue Reading Relief for Employers as Supreme Court Rules no Liability in Morrisons Data Breach Case