As businesses prepare for the Brazil General Law for Data Protection, or LGPD, one key provision is still up in the air: the date the law takes effect. Under the original law, the LGPD was scheduled to take effect next Sunday, August 16. For the past several months, however, that date has been a moving … Continue Reading
On the second episode of our Inside Privacy Audiocast, we are aiming our looking glass at Russia, and are joined for our discussion by Partner Maria Ostashenko and Senior Associate Anastasia Petrova of the Data Protection and Cybersecurity practice at the Alrud law firm in Moscow. The pair discuss Russia’s data protection framework, zooming in … Continue Reading
On July 17, 2020, the High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence set up by the European Commission (“AI HLEG”) published The Assessment List for Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (“Assessment List”). The purpose of the Assessment List is to help companies identify the risks of AI systems they develop, deploy or procure, and implement appropriate measures to … Continue Reading
On July 2, 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China (“NPC”) released the draft Data Security Law (“Draft Law”) for public comment. The release of the Draft Law marks a step forward in establishing a regulatory framework for the protection of broadly defined “data security” in China, with a particular focus … Continue Reading
On June 24, 2020, the European Commission (“Commission”) published its much-anticipated assessment of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) two years after it went into effect. The assessment takes into account contributions from the European Council, the European Parliament, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”), individual supervisory authorities, the Multi-Stakeholder Expert Group and other … Continue Reading
On June 19, 2020, the French Council of State (Conseil d’État) decided that the French Supervisory Authority (“CNIL”) had gone too far in its guidance on cookies and similar technologies when it stated that conditioning a user’s access to a website upon his or her acceptance of certain cookies (commonly known as “cookie walls”) is … Continue Reading
On May 25, 2020, the second anniversary of the GDPR, the Belgian Supervisory Authority (“SA”) released an overview of its first full year of activity (available in French here, and in Dutch here). To be clear, this was not a delay in reporting, but rather shows that the Belgian legislature was late in creating its … Continue Reading
On June 2, 2020, the French Supervisory Authority (“CNIL”) published a paper on algorithmic discrimination prepared by the French independent administrative authority known as “Défenseur des droits”. The paper is divided into two parts: the first part discusses how algorithms can lead to discriminatory outcomes, and the second part includes recommendations on how to identify … Continue Reading
On May 11, 2020, the State Cryptography Administration (“SCA”) and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued the Commercial Encryption Product Certification Catalogue (First Batch) (“Product Catalogue”) and the Commercial Encryption Product Certification Measures (“Certification Measures”) (the announcement is available here), taking effect immediately. Prior to the adoption of the Encryption Law (see … Continue Reading
On April 28, 2020, the Dutch Supervisory Authority (“Dutch SA”) announced its decision to impose a fine of €725,000 on a company for unlawfully processing the biometric data of its employees. In 2018, the company concerned installed an access and time management system that collected and processed biometric templates of employees’ fingerprints. This initiative came … Continue Reading
On April 27, 2020, the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) and other eleven government agencies jointly released the final version of the Measures on Cybersecurity Review (“Measures”) (an official Chinese version of the Measures is available here). These Measures will take effect on June 1, 2020. Under Article 35 of China’s Cybersecurity Law (“CSL”), operators … Continue Reading
On April 21, 2020, the European Data Protection Board (“Board”) issued guidelines on the processing of personal data for scientific research related to COVID-19. The Board indicates that the GDPR takes into account the needs of scientific research and should not be a barrier to conduct such research, while at the same time, it helps … Continue Reading
As we anticipated in a previous blog post, on April 22, 2020, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) issued new guidelines on the use of location data and contact tracing apps in the context of the present COVID-19 pandemic. The EDPB’s new guidelines complement and build on similar guidance previously issued by the Board itself … Continue Reading
On April 17, 2020, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) issued an opinion on the recently announced Apple-Google initiative to develop a Bluetooth-based Contact Tracing Framework (“CTF”) to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The ICO opinion is generally supportive of the Apple-Google proposal and perceives it to be, at this early phase, aligned with … Continue Reading
On 8 April 2020, the European Commission adopted a recommendation on a common European Union toolbox for the use of technology and data to address the COVID-19 crisis (“Recommendation”). The Recommendation responds to calls for a common EU approach to the use of mobile apps in combatting COVID-19—one that improves the efficacy of the technology … Continue Reading
On April 6, 2020, Tapplock, Inc., a Canadian maker of internet-connected smart locks, entered into a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) to resolve allegations that the company deceived consumers by falsely claiming that it had implemented reasonable steps to secure user data and that its locks were “unbreakable.” The FTC alleged that these … Continue Reading
On April 9, 2020, the German Supervisory Authority of Baden-Wuerttemberg published standard contractual clauses for data processors pursuant to Article 28(8) GDPR. It is the first German Supervisory Authority to do so, and the second in EU after the Danish Supervisory Authority published its own standard clauses in July 2019. However, while the Danish clauses … Continue Reading
On April 7, 2020, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) announced that it assigned specific mandates to two expert subgroups to prepare guidance on a number of Covid-19 related topics. The list of topics chosen by the EDPB reflects those that have received the closest scrutiny by the national authorities.… Continue Reading
On March 28, 2020, the “Federal Act for the Protection of the Population against an Epidemic of National Significance” (Bevölkerungsschutzgesetz) went into effect. The law forms part of an emergency legislative package introduced by the German government in response to COVID-19. The law amends the Social Code V (SGB V) by introducing a new provision … Continue Reading
The Brazil Senate unanimously approved a bill today that would delay implementation of the Brazil General Law for Data Protection, or LGPD, until January 1, 2021 and enforcement of fines and penalties until August 1, 2021. The LGPD is currently scheduled to take effect on August 15, 2020. The draft bill — one of four … Continue Reading
On 1 April 2020, the UK Supreme Court handed down its ruling in WM Morrison Supermarkets plc v Various Claimants [2020] UKSC 12. The Court ruled that Morrisons was not vicariously liable for a data breach deliberately perpetrated by an employee. The judgment is significant in that it overturned the decisions of the two lower … Continue Reading
On March 17, 2020, the Executive Committee of the Global Privacy Assembly (“GPA”) issued a statement on data protection in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The GPA is an entity representing data protection and privacy regulators around the globe, formerly known as the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners (“ICDPPC”). The GPA … Continue Reading
Over the past several days, Germany Supervisory Authorities and health authorities have issued statements and guidance about the handling of personal data in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this blog, we consider some these statements in greater detail, as well as their implications for employers and employees.… Continue Reading
Covington experts on issues as varied as supply chain and other commercial contracts, employment, and insurance are supporting companies on the commercial implications of Coronavirus COVID-19. But this blog post provides a brief overview of some of the key issues that privacy and cybersecurity professionals should have top of mind in dealing with response efforts. … Continue Reading
