By Kristof Van Quathem and Anna Sophia Oberschelp de Meneses Exactly one month after the GDPR started applying, the French Supervisory Authority (“CNIL”) issued a formal warning to two companies in relation to their processing of localization data for targeted advertising (see here). The CNIL found that the consent on which both companies relied did … Continue Reading
On July 27, 2018, the Government of India’s Committee of Experts released a draft Protection of Personal Data Bill. Together with an accompanying report, the draft bill moves India one step closer towards enacting a comprehensive data protection regime. Last year, the Supreme Court of India issued a landmark decision holding that privacy is a … Continue Reading
Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionise many industries; it has been said that “blockchain will do to the financial system what the internet did to media”. Its most famous use is its role as the architecture of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, however it has many other potential uses in the financial sector, for instance in … Continue Reading
On July 17, 2018, the Dutch Supervisory Authority announced that it will start a preliminary investigation to assess whether certain large corporations comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) – see the official press release here (in Dutch). To that end, the authority will review the “records of processing activities” from thirty randomly … Continue Reading
China has set out on an ambitious agenda of aiming to become the world leader in artificial intelligence by 2030. Policy experiments for a critical part of China’s AI development strategy, and to that end multiple government think tanks have set out formulating standards that may impact AI innovation in China. The China Electronics Standardization … Continue Reading
On June 27, 2018, China’s Ministry of Public Security (“MPS”) released for public comment a draft of the Regulations on Cybersecurity Multi-level Protection Scheme (“the Draft Regulation”). The highly anticipated Draft Regulation sets out the details of an updated Multi-level Protection Scheme, whereby network operators (defined below) are required to comply with different levels of … Continue Reading
By Kristof Van Quathem and Anna Sophia Oberschelp de Meneses The European Court of Human Rights (“ECHR”) decided on 28 June 2018 that the right to request the erasure of personal data on prior convictions, may be trumped by the right to freedom of expression and information. The court confirmed prior case law deciding that the … Continue Reading
By Mark Young and Gemma Nash The UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published on July 5 a joint Discussion Paper with the Prudential Regulation Authority (“PRA”) and the Bank of England (“BoE”) on “Building the UK financial sector’s operational resilience.” The Discussion Paper focuses on the ability of regulated firms and financial market infrastructures (“FMIs”) … Continue Reading
On June 11, 2018, the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (“FS-ISAC”) announced the launch of the CERES Forum, an information sharing initiative for central banks, regulators, and supervisors designed to strengthen responses to cyber and physical threats. The new forum will become operational on July 1, 2018. Although FS-ISAC primarily comprises private financial … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the executive branch agency responsible for telecommunications and information policy, released a Notice of Inquiry requesting that any interested party—including the private sector, technical experts, academics, and civil society—help the agency determine its international internet policy priorities. In particular, NTIA is seeking comments and recommendations … Continue Reading
This past week, Mary Meeker presented her annual Internet Trends report for 2018 at the Code Conference. A copy of the slide deck is available here. The report is widely respected by industry experts, and this year’s presentation included a number of insights that industry stakeholders will find relevant regarding data privacy and technology more … Continue Reading
Two federal appellate courts are taking sharply different views on whether—and why—government agents must have some amount of suspicion to conduct forensic searches of electronic devices seized at the border. The Fourth Circuit on May 9, 2018, held that government agents must have reasonable suspicion to conduct forensic searches of cell phones seized at the … Continue Reading
The much discussed and long-awaited General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) applies from today, May 25, 2018. It will update and harmonize data protection laws across the EU, and sets out comprehensive rules in relation to personal data handling, as well as the rights of individuals over their personal data. It is unclear how aggressively the … Continue Reading
Having received Royal Assent on May 23, 2018, the UK Data Protection Bill is now an Act of Parliament. The Data Protection Act 2018 (the “Act”) implements the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and replaces the UK Data Protection Act 1998. Notable provisions that make use of the ability of Member States to implement different … Continue Reading
Reflecting evidence from 280 witnesses from the government, academia and industry, and nine months of investigation, the UK House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence published its report “AI in the UK: ready, willing and able?” on April 16, 2018 (the Report). The Report considers the future of AI in the UK, from perceived … Continue Reading
Last summer, Marcus Hutchins, the security researcher who stopped the “WannaCry” malware attack, was arrested and charged for his role in allegedly creating and conspiring to sell a different piece of malware, known as Kronos. As we have previously discussed on this blog, however, the indictment was notable for its lack of allegations connecting Hutchins … Continue Reading
IAB Europe opened the registration process for vendors and consent management providers (“CMPs”) to apply for approved status under IAB Europe’s Transparency and Consent Framework (“Framework”). The Framework intends to provide publishers that have decided that the interest-based advertising products available on their platforms require user consent to deploy a standardized framework to (1) disclose … Continue Reading
Last August, the Department of Justice arrested and indicted Marcus Hutchins, the security researcher who accidentally discovered the “kill switch” that stopped the “WannaCry” malware attack. Hutchins was not charged for anything to do with WannaCry, but rather for creating and conspiring to sell a different piece of malware, the “Kronos Banking trojan.” Apart from … Continue Reading
Henriette Tielemans, co-chair of Covington’s global Data Privacy and Cybersecurity practice, has today received the IAPP Privacy Vanguard Award, the industry’s top honor, for her lifelong services to the data privacy community. The International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) is the world’s largest and most comprehensive global information privacy community. Each year, the IAPP names … Continue Reading
On March 23, 2018, Congress passed, and President Trump signed into law, the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (“CLOUD”) Act, which creates a new framework for government access to data held by technology companies worldwide. The CLOUD Act, enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, has two components. Part I: Extraterritorial Reach of … Continue Reading
Artificial intelligence promises to be a paradigm shift for many applications from manufacturing to finance, and from defense to education. Given the vast potential, focus on AI has sharpened around the world, including in China. Decision makers in Beijing and around the country are paying attention and have begun shaping a legal and policy regime … Continue Reading
By Bruce Bennett, Carlo Kostka, Charlotte Hill, Craig Pollack, Dan Cooper, Gemma Nash, Kristof Van Quathem, Mark Young, and Sophie Bertin The EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2), which took effect on January 13, 2018, puts an obligation on banks to give Third Party Providers (TPPs) access to a customer’s payment account data, provided the customer expressly … Continue Reading
By Dan Cooper, Joseph Jones, and Ruth Scoles Mitchell On January 25, 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) handed down a ruling permitting consumer privacy actions to be brought in the consumer’s home jurisdiction — as opposed to the jurisdiction in which the defendant data controller has its main establishment — … Continue Reading
On January 2, 2018, the Standardization Administration of China (“SAC”) released the final version of the national standard on personal information protection, officially entitled GB/T 35273-2017 Information Technology – Personal Information Security Specification (GB/T 35273-2017 信息安全技术 个人信息安全规范) (hereinafter “the Standard”). The Standard will come into effect on May 1, 2018. As highlighted in our previous … Continue Reading
