Global Privacy & Security Compliance Law Blog

Tag Archives: Litigation

Proposal of EU-US Privacy Shield Leaves Businesses in State of Uncertainty

By Ulrich Wuermeling, Gail Crawford and Jennifer Archie Earlier this week, the European Commission announced that a “political” agreement has been reached on a new framework for data flows from the EU to the US. The announcement highlights a few changes from the old Safe Harbor regime, such as more direct and active oversight by US … Continue Reading

FTC Administrative Law Judge Issues Initial Decision in LabMD Matter

By Jennifer Archie, Scott Jones and Alex Stout In a stunning victory, an administrative law judge has recommended the dismissal of a long-pending US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint against LabMD, Inc. (LabMD). In a strongly worded opinion in a case that had become highly politicized following 2014 congressional hearings, ALJ D. Michael Chappell found … Continue Reading

European Commission Defends Model Contracts

By Ulrich Wuermeling On November 6, the European Commission issued a comprehensive Communication on the consequences of the Schrems Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ). In the Communication, the Commission puts national data protection authorities in their place by stating that Model Contracts are a valid alternative measure to provide … Continue Reading

European Commission Pushes New Agreement with the US

By Ulrich Wuermeling On October 26, the European Commissioner Věra Jourová addressed the Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs to discuss the consequences of the Schrems Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ). Jourová commented on the status of the negotiations with the US to find a new solution … Continue Reading

German Data Protection Authorities: Hope for Model Contracts?

By Ulrich Wuermeling An early Position Paper of the German data protection authority of Schleswig-Holstein on the Schrems Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) gave little hope for practical alternatives to Safe Harbor. On October 26, all German data protection authorities published a more reasoned joint Statement that follows the … Continue Reading

European Data Protection Authorities Grant Grace Period Until End of January 2016

By Gail Crawford, Ulrich Wuermeling and Jennifer Archie The so called Article 29 Working Party met on October 15, 2015 to discuss the consequences of the Schrems Judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). On October 16, 2015, the Working Party published a Statement summarizing their initial conclusions. The Working Party includes representatives of … Continue Reading

European Court of Justice Advocate General Opinion: The End of Safe Harbor?

By Ulrich Wuermeling On September 23, the European Court of Justice heard the case which will determine whether US companies can rely on Safe Harbor as a measure to provide adequate privacy protection for personal data imported from the European Union. As of today, more than 4000 US companies have notified the Department of Commerce … Continue Reading

Microsoft Stands Up in Court for European Privacy Rights?

A Stored Communications Act (SCA) search warrant case arising out of a New York federal  narcotics trafficking investigation is being closely watched by EU data protection authorities, privacy advocates, multinational internet service providers, and law enforcement, among others, as the  parties pursue an expedited appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Captioned In re Search … Continue Reading

The “Right to be Forgotten” Landmark Decision: Beyond the Headlines

By Larry Cohen and Gail Crawford While the popular press has been full of stories about the European Court of Justice’s (“ECJ”) ruling creating a “right to be forgotten” (ahead of the still pending Data Protection Regulation), we will focus on both the ruling as well as the specific questions referred to the ECJ that … Continue Reading

Complaint That Sale of Magazine Subscription Lists Violates Michigan’s Video Rental Privacy Law Sustained

By Kevin Boyle In a case that is a good reminder of the potential reach of sometimes overlooked state legislation to national practices, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has sustained the core of several complaints for violation of Michigan’s Video Rental Privacy Act. Among other arguments, defendants in the cases asserted that the … Continue Reading

Proposed amendments to draft EU Data Privacy Regulation imposes major constraints on processing and export of Personal Data

Recently Jan Philipp Albrecht, rapporteur for the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee, the lead committee considering the proposed draft General Data Protection Regulation, published the committee’s suggested amendments to the original draft regulation.  The reports runs to over 200 pages and contains over 350 separate amendments. Since the original draft regulation was … Continue Reading

PL&B Annual Conference, Day 2: The Patriot Act, Distinguishing Fact from Fiction?

By Gail Crawford and Amy Taylor It seems somewhat fitting to blog about the USA Patriot Act on this Fourth of July. On the second day of the annual Privacy Laws & Business conference in Cambridge, Peter McLaughlin, senior counsel at Foley & Lardner, took to the floor with the aim of “distinguishing fact and fiction about the scope of the law and … Continue Reading

European Court of Justice Enforces Strict Harmonization

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is challenging national legislators in the European Union who introduced privacy laws stricter than those provided for by the European Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC). In a decision issued on November 24, 2011, the ECJ declared a provision in the Spanish Organic Law 15/1999 invalid because it imposes additional requirements for … Continue Reading

Caution for Employers: Don’t Read Too Much Into Your Social Media Policy

Many employers have adopted policies establishing guidelines for responsible blogging and use by employees of social networking media sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube.  These policies typically require that employees make clear that they are not speaking on behalf of their employer, unless specifically authorized to do so; comply with company policies regarding … Continue Reading
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