Private Right of Action

Regulators and courts in the EU are increasingly vigilant in relation to privacy practices and policies of large online companies.  In recent years and months, the pressure increases not only through privacy-specific regulations and enforcement, but also through the application of consumer legislation.  As the below examples from France and Germany show, some courts or regulators assess privacy practices and policies against the rules on unfair or abusive trade practices — in some countries, the legislator is even proposing new laws to that end.  This is a worrying trend, as it could trigger the application of an additional set of rules to privacy policies, and implies that EU consumer protection authorities may acquire competence in relation to online privacy policies, in addition to the EU data protection regulators.

Continue Reading European Consumer Legislation and Online Privacy Policies: Opening Pandora’s Box?

Pursuant to a press release of the German Federal Ministry for Justice and Consumer Protection, the German Government approved a draft law to strengthen the private enforcement of certain data protection law provisions that aim to protect consumers.  In particular, the draft law empowers consumers and other qualified associations to send cease-and-desist letters and to

As The Hill and other news outlets are reporting, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) — who previously was one of the most active state attorneys general on privacy and data security issues before joining the Senate in 2011 — has introduced data protection legislation. This will be the eighth breach notification bill introduced on Capitol Hill