USA

From an American perspective, the European Union can appear to be a coercive force in the technology sector, ensuring that big technology companies don’t step out of line on issues like data privacy  – Europe’s Single Data Market But there’s another perspective to consider. In the future, the EU could…

On July 16, 2020, the European Union’s Court of Justice (“CJEU”) ruled that an important provision of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (“Privacy Shield”) allowing companies to lawfully transfer personal data from the EU to the US is invalid. Companies must now reevaluate their data privacy protocols to ensure they are…

In “Schrems II” (Case C-311/18), the CJEU invalidated Privacy Shield based on the potential interference with data subject rights caused by US government surveillance carried out under Section 702 of FISA and EO 12333. The Court also referred to PRISM and UPSTREAM, two surveillance programs revealed by the Snowden leaks.…

A class action lawsuit resulting from a large data breach was recently filed against online stationery and craft company Minted Inc. The proposed class action lawsuit, filed in a California federal court, claims that Minted Inc. failed to implement “reasonable security measures” and to properly encrypt certain personal information. Hackers allegedly accessed…

On June 1, California’s Office of the Attorney General submitted the final proposed regulations package for the California Consumer Privacy Act to the Office of Administrative Law for review. Included in this package is the Final Statement of Reasons, explaining the modifications from the initially proposed text of the regulations,…

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is fully in force as of July 1, but a new study from data privacy management firm Ethyca shows that more than half of organizations are still not prepared for it. This is a very late point in the game to get started, as…

European Companies’ Participation in Privacy Shield Up Nearly 30% from the Past Year. EU-US Privacy Shield Remains Essential to Leading European Companies. From Major Employers such as Logitech and Siemens to Leading Technology Firms like Telefónica and SAP, European Companies Depend on the EU-US Agreement. The Privacy Shield Program Supports…

The European Union’s top court struck down a key method used by Facebook Inc. and other companies to transfer data across the Atlantic amid fears over potential U.S. surveillance. Thursday’s decision by the EU Court of Justice on the so-called Privacy Shield means thousands of businesses that ship commercial data…

The California Consumer Privacy Act enters the enforcement phase on July 1, despite pleas by some business groups to delay it because of Covid-19 coronavirus impacts. This means that California’s Attorney General will be able to take direct action against businesses that violate the privacy protection requirements of the CCPA.…