On October 1, 2020, the Hamburg Data Protection Authority (“Hamburg DPA”) fined H&M, the Swedish clothing company, over €35 million for illegally surveilling employees at its service center in Nuremberg. This fine is the largest financial penalty issued by a German DPA to date for a violation of the European General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), … Continue Reading
Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have introduced the Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act, a bill that would require tech companies to assist law enforcement in executing search warrants that seek encrypted data. The bill would apply to law enforcement efforts to obtain data at rest as well as … Continue Reading
On June 16, 2020, the First Circuit released its opinion in United States v. Moore-Bush. The issue presented was whether the Government’s warrantless use of a pole camera to continuously record for eight months the front of Defendants’ home, as well as their and their visitors’ comings and goings, infringed on the Defendants’ reasonable expectation … 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 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
Last week, in Alasaad v. McAleenan, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that the Fourth Amendment requires reasonable suspicion that a traveler is carrying contraband in order to search a traveler’s smartphone or laptop at airports and other U.S. ports of entry. Judge Denise J. Casper’s decision relied on Riley v. … Continue Reading
On October 31, 2019, Elizabeth Denham, the UK’s Information Commissioner issued an Opinion and an accompanying blog urging police forces to slow down adoption of live facial recognition technology and take steps to justify its use. The Commissioner calls on the UK government to introduce a statutory binding code of practice on the use of … Continue Reading
R (on the application of Edward Bridges) v The Chief Constable of South Wales [2019] EWHC 2341 (Admin) Case Note Introduction In Bridges, an application for judicial review, the UK High Court (Lord Justice Haddon-Cave and Mr. Justice Swift) considered the lawfulness of policing operations conducted by the South Wales Police force (“SWP”) which utilised … Continue Reading
When the U.S. government conducts electronic surveillance, there are a variety of legal authorities on which it relies. The Wiretap Act, for example, authorizes the government to conduct live telephone wiretaps in certain criminal investigations; for electronic data, the Act also permits the government to acquire electronic communications in real time. The Stored Communications Act … Continue Reading
