Joris Van Hoboken, The European Approach to Privacy

2014 TPRC Conference Paper Abstract This paper critically assesses the character of European (Union’s) privacy law and policy in the field of online media and electronic communications. Contrary to current understanding, this field of law is more fragmented and ill-developed than is often assumed, in particular by those discussing privacy law and policy in an […]

ECJ holds a private CCTV camera which incidentally monitors a public space is not data processing “in the course of a purely personal or household activity” (Article 3(2) EU 95/46)

On December 11, 2014, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) considered the recording by CCTV (Closed-circuit television) cameras on private premises as “household exception” to data protection laws, even though they incidentally monitored a public space. In this case, a Czech citizen installed a camera system for security purposes in his family home. The camera registered […]

An update on Case C-362/14 (the ECJ to decide whether European judges are still “absolutely bound” by Safe Harbor)

On March 24, 2015, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) heard arguments on case C-362/14. The ECJ is called to decide on whether national judges are “absolutely bound” by a company’s declaration to participate in the Safe Harbor, or whether they could still conduct their own investigations to determine if personal data are protected according […]

Free flow of data in the TTIP

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) might provide for the free flow of data across the ocean. However, now the priority is the data protection regulation, source says. More information is available at http://www.euractiv… Follow us on& Like us on   

Italian DPA’s draft of code of conduct for companies processing personal data for business information purpose opened for comments

On February 19, 2015 (decision no. 96) the Italian Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) opened for comments a draft of a code of conduct for companies processing personal data for business information purpose. Based on the definition given in the draft, the covered companies are those that provide information and evaluation services that may involve the […]

EU Data Protection Regulation update: “one stop shop” mechanism only in important cross-border cases

On March 13, 2015, the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council (one of the configurations of the Council of the European Union) made some progress on the EU data protection framework and the Proposal for a European Regulation on data protection. The EU Council agreed on a partial general approach (7178/15) on the “One Stop Shop” mechanism and the principles for […]

Joseph Steinberg, How Two Obscure Court Verdicts in Europe Could Impact Americans’ Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Taxes

The author discusses two French court verdicts that could have serious consequences for American businesses. The first ruling established that “in “inextricably linked” cases, a European subsidiary in any of the 28 member states of the European Union is liable for actions of its American parent that violate European law, even if the European subsidiary […]

United States and the Netherlands to cooperate on privacy enforcement

On March 6, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Dutch Data Protection Authority (College bescherming persoonsgegevens, see here) to “enhance information sharing and enforcement cooperation on privacy-related matters”. The MOU is similar to agreements the FTC has signed with with the data protection authorities of Ireland and the […]

In a world of fitness apps it is important to know what is health data and how it shall be processed

On February 5, 2015, Article 29 Working Party (“WP29″) clarified the scope of the definition of data concerning health in relation to lifestyle and wellbeing apps. The Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC) establishes that health data are a special category of data, to which a higher level of data protection applies. According to the letter, the […]