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Dan Cooper

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Daniel Cooper heads up the firm’s growing Data Privacy and Cybersecurity practice in London, and counsels clients in the information technology, pharmaceutical research, sports and financial services industries, among others, on European and UK data protection, data retention and freedom of information laws, as well as associated information technology and e-commerce laws and regulations. Mr. Cooper also regularly counsels clients with respect to Internet-related liabilities under European and US laws. Mr. Cooper sits on the advisory boards of a number of privacy NGOs, privacy think tanks, and related bodies.

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In Episode 12 of our Inside Privacy Audiocast, together with special guest Advocate Pansy Tlakula, Chairperson of the Information Regulator of South Africa, we discussed the Information Regulator’s mandate and the implementation of data protection legislation in South Africa.  Now, with less than a month to go before South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPIA”) takes full effect on July 1, 2021, it is critical for organizations operating in South Africa to ensure that they are ready, if and when the Information Regulator comes knocking.

It is only when organizations start their POPIA journey that they realize just how wide the POPIA net is cast, and that very few businesses fall outside of its reach.  The road to POPIA compliance should be viewed as a marathon, and not a sprint.  While implementing and maintaining an effective POPIA compliance program will take continued effort and resources well beyond the July 1, 2021 go-live date, here we outline five steps to which companies subject to POPIA should give their attention in the short term.

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Continue Reading Final Countdown to POPIA Compliance: Five Critical Steps to Take Before July 1st, 2021

On Episode 13 of Covington’s Inside Privacy Audiocast, Dan Cooper is joined by Dotan Hammer, a Partner in the Internet, Cyber & Copyright Group at Pearl Cohen, to discuss recent privacy developments in Israel, including Israel’s data-economy relations with the EU and the U.S.

Covington’s Inside Privacy Audiocast offers insights into topical global privacy…

In celebration of data privacy as a human right as part of South Africa’s Human Rights Day 2021, we feature special guest Advocate Pansy Tlakula, Chairperson of the Information Regulator of South Africa on Episode 12 of Covington’s Inside Privacy Audiocast. Together with Dan Cooper and Mosa Mkhize, we discuss the Information Regulator of…

On February 19, 2021, the European Commission published two draft decisions finding that UK law provides an adequate level of protection for personal data.  The first would allow private companies in the EU to continue to transfer personal data to the UK without the need for any additional safeguards (e.g., the Commission’s standard contractual clauses), while the second would allow EU law enforcement agencies to transfers personal data subject to Directive 2016/680 — the Data Protection and Law Enforcement Directive (LED) — to their UK counterparts.
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Continue Reading European Commission Publishes Draft UK Adequacy Decisions

The EU’s ePrivacy Regulation, like the EU GDPR, has been highly anticipated since it was first proposed in 2017. What are the current developments and next steps in the process to enactment? What are some of the complicating factors of the proposed Regulation? Are there major differences between the initial proposal and where the text…

On February 14, 2021, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”), one of two significant financial services free zones in the United Arab Emirates, enacted its new Data Protection Regulations 2021 (the “Regulations”).  The Regulations will come into force and replace the current Data Protection Regulations 2015 following a transition period of 12 months for current…

On February 11, 2021, the European Commission launched a public consultation on its initiative to fight child sexual abuse online (the “Initiative”), which aims to impose obligations on online service providers to detect child sexual abuse online and to report it to public authorities. The consultation is part of the data collection activities announced in the Initiative’s inception impact assessment issued in December last year. The consultation runs until April 15, 2021, and the Commission intends to propose the necessary legislation by the end of the second quarter of 2021.
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Continue Reading European Commission Launches Consultation on Initiative to Fight Child Sexual Abuse

In this blog post, we look at a recent decision by the UK Court of Appeal and a separate prosecution brought by the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”; the UK data protection authority), which together serve as a cautionary tale for employees and prospective future employers of the risks of civil liability and criminal conviction for confidential information and data theft.

Clear contractual terms and policies, supplemented by training, remain critical tools for employers seeking to deter employees from misappropriating corporate information.  Employers may wish to make use of these examples to underscore the importance of compliance.

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Continue Reading Employee Confidentiality and Data Theft: Recent UK Developments

On this special tenth episode of our Inside Privacy Audiocast, we celebrate Data Privacy Day 2021. Join Dan Cooper and Kurt Wimmer as they discuss the key global data privacy developments in 2020 and trends to look out for in 2021.

Covington’s Inside Privacy Audiocast offers insights into topical global privacy issues and trends. Subscribe…

On the ninth episode of our Inside Privacy Audiocast, we peer through the looking glass at China’s approach to data protection and the latest developments in its emerging data protection and cybersecurity regime. Dan Cooper, Yan Luo and Zhijing Yu discuss the variety of legal instruments in China’s quickly-evolving data protection and cybersecurity regulatory…