Blogs

On June 16, 2016, the French data protection agency (CNIL) opened a consultation on the EU Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The consultation aims at helping the Article 29 Working Party with the guidelines that it is preparing on Data Protection Officers, data portability, Privacy Impact Assessment, and certification. The purpose is to collect concrete questions, […]

  On May 30, 2016, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) – whose mission is to advise the EU institutions on the data protection implications of their policies — published Opinion 4/2016 on the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield draft adequacy decision. According to the press release the Privacy Shield as it stands is not robust enough to withstand future […]

On May 25, 2016, the EU Commission proposed new legislation to “allow consumers and companies to buy and sell products and services online more easily and confidently across the EU”. As a way to implement a Digital Single Market, the EU Commission plans to boost e-commerce by: “Tackling geoblocking” –  The proposed legislation shall ensure that consumers seeking […]

On May 25, 2016, Schrem’s website “Europe v Facebook” (website collecting information regarding class actions against Facebook) released a press update according to which the Irish Data Protection Commissioner may refer another issue to the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) i.e., according to the website, whether “Facebook can continue to transfer data from the […]

On May 18, 2016, the European American Chamber of Commerce sponsored a discussion the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework (Safe Harbor 2.0). The panel discussed the steps that brought to the agreement between the EU Commission and US Government. More information to this regard is available at http://www.technethics.com… The panel then discussed the key contents of the Privacy Shield. […]

On May 10, 2016, the French and the German competition law authorities issued a joint paper on competition law and data. The two authorities discussed how the collection, processing, and commercial use of data became a factor in establishing market power. “This paper aims to feed this debate by identifying some of the key issues […]

On April 11, 2016, the European Commission opened a public consultation on the current text of the ePrivacy Directive (EU Directive 2002/58/EC on privacy and electronic communications). According to the EU Commission, following the adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, see here), the ePrivacy rules will also need to be reviewed. The Commission […]

After the October 6, 2015, European Court of Justice’s annulment of the Safe Harbor decision of adequacy (Maximilian Schrems v. Data Protection Commissioner), the European Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) gave businesses until January 31, 2016, for the start of enforcement of the Schrems’ decision (see here). The Safe Harbor Scheme had been used for almost 15 years as the […]

Internet-of-Things (IoT) (or internet-of-everything as it is often interchangeably called-) is a buzzword and it is all over. At present, the news is more technological than legal. Nonetheless, the IoT triggers some worrisome legal issues, among which data collection, data security, and invasion of privacy are among the most compelling. Actually, these issues are imposing because […]

On February 23, 2016, the European American Chamber of Commerce (EACC) hosted an interesting EU-US Privacy Roundtable with Privacy Activist Max Schrems, founder of the group Europe v. Facebook. The panel started by providing a brief overview of the developments in data privacy laws. It also explained the judiciary path that brought to the judgment […]