Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On March 6, 2018, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton & Williams LLP issued a white paper on GDPR Implementation in Respect of Children’s Data and Consent (the “White Paper”). The White Paper sets forth guidance and recommendations concerning the application of GDPR requirements to the processing of children’s personal data. The White Paper also highlights and addresses several issues raised by the Article 29 Working Party (the “Working Party”) with regard to children in its guidelines on consent and issues raised by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office in its Consultation on Children and the GDPR.

On February 5, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced its most recent Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) case against Explore Talent, an online service marketed to aspiring actors and models. According to the FTC’s complaint, Explore Talent provided a free platform for consumers to find information about upcoming auditions, casting calls and other opportunities. The company also offered a monthly fee-based “pro” service that promised to provide consumers with access to specific opportunities. Users who registered online were asked to input a host of personal information including full name, email, telephone number, mailing address and photo; they also were asked to provide their eye color, hair color, body type, measurements, gender, ethnicity, age range and birth date.

On February 1, 2018, the Singapore Personal Data Protection Commission (the “PDPC”) published its response to feedback collected during a public consultation process conducted during the late summer and fall of 2017 (the “Response”). During that public consultation, the PDPC circulated a proposal relating to two general topics: (1) the relevance of two new alternative bases for collecting, using and disclosing personal data (“Notification of Purpose” and “Legal or Business Purpose”), and (2) a mandatory data breach notification requirement. The PDPC invited feedback from the public on these topics.

On January 29, 2018, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton & Williams LLP submitted formal comments to the Article 29 Working Party (the “Working Party”) on its Guidelines on Consent (the “Guidelines”). The Guidelines were adopted by the Working Party on November 28, 2017, for public consultation.

On January 25, 2018, the Standardization Administration of China published the full text of the Information Security Technology – Personal Information Security Specification (the “Specification”). The Specification will come into effect on May 1, 2018. The Specification is voluntary, but could become influential within China because it establishes benchmarks for the processing of personal information by a wide variety of entities and organizations. In effect, the Specification constitutes a best practices guide for the collection, retention, use, sharing and transfer of personal information, and for the handling of related information security incidents.

Recently, the EU’s Article 29 Working Party (the “Working Party”) adopted guidelines (the “Guidance”) on the meaning of consent under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). In this Guidance, the Working Party has confirmed that consent should be a reversible decision where a degree of control must remain with the data subject. The Guidance provides further detail on what is necessary to ensure that consent satisfies the requirements of the GDPR:

Recently, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC”) issued its 2017 Global Privacy Enforcement Network Sweep results (the “Report”), which focused on certain privacy practices of online educational tools and services targeted at classrooms. The OPC examined the privacy practices of two dozen educational websites and apps used by K-12 students. The “sweep” sought to replicate the consumer experience by interacting with the websites and apps, and recording the privacy practices and controls in place. The overarching theme of the Report is “user controls over personal information,” which the OPC further refined into four subthemes: (1) transparency, (2) consent, (3) age-appropriate collection and disclosure, and (4) deletion of personal information.

On October 19, 2017, the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (“LIBE Committee”) narrowly voted to approve an amended version of the e-Privacy Regulation (“Regulation”). The committee vote is an important step in the process within the European Parliament. This vote will be followed by a vote of the European Parliament in its plenary session on October 23-26. If the plenary also votes in favor, the European Parliament will have a mandate to begin negotiations with the Member States in the Council. If these negotiations (commonly known as “trilogue”) succeed, the Regulation will be adopted.

On September 5, 2017, the FTC announced that Lenovo, Inc. (“Lenovo”) agreed to settle charges that its preloaded software on some laptop computers compromised online security protections in order to deliver advertisements to consumers. The settlement agreement (the “Settlement”) is between Lenovo, the FTC and 32 State Attorneys General. 

On July 5, 2017, the FTC announced that Blue Global Media, LLC (“Blue Global”) agreed to settle charges that it misled consumers into filling out loan applications and then sold those applications, including sensitive personal information contained therein, to other entities without verifying how consumers’ information would be used or whether it would remain secure. According to the FTC’s complaint, Blue Global claimed it would connect loan applicants to lenders from its network of over 100 lenders in an effort to offer applicants the best terms. In reality, Blue Global “sold very few of the loan applications to lenders; did not match applications based on loan rates or terms; and sold the loan applications to the first buyer willing to pay for them.” The FTC alleged that, contrary to Blue Global’s representations, the company provided consumers’ sensitive information—including SSN and bank account number—to buyers without consumers’ knowledge or consent. The FTC further alleged that, upon receiving complaints from consumers that their personal information was being misused, Blue Global failed to investigate or take action to prevent harm to consumers.

The Article 29 Working Party (“Working Party”) recently issued its Opinion on data processing at work (the “Opinion”). The Opinion, which complements the Working Party’s previous Opinion 08/2001 on the processing of personal data in the employment context and Working document on the surveillance of electronic communications in the workplace, seeks to provide guidance on balancing employee privacy expectations in the workplace with employers’ legitimate interests in processing employee data. The Opinion is applicable to all types of employees and not just those under an employment contract (e.g., freelancers).

On June 21, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission updated its guidance, Six-Step Compliance Plan for Your Business, for complying with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”). The FTC enforces the COPPA Rule, which sets requirements regarding children’s privacy and safety online. The updated guidance adds new information on situations where COPPA applies and steps to take for compliance.

On May 27, 2017, the National Information Security Standardization Technical Committee of China published draft guidelines on cross-border transfers pursuant to the new Cybersecurity Law, entitled Information Security Technology – Guidelines for Data Cross-Border Transfer Security Assessment (the “Draft Guidelines"). The earlier draft, Measures for the Security Assessment of Outbound Transmission of Personal Information and Critical Data (the “Draft Measures”), requires network operators to conduct “security assessments” when they propose to transfer personal information and “important information” to places outside of China. These “security assessments” are essentially audits of the cybersecurity circumstances surrounding the proposed transfer that are intended to produce an assessment of the risk involved. If the assessment indicates that the risk is too high, the transfer must be terminated.

On June 5, 2017, an Illinois federal court ordered satellite television provider Dish Network LLC (“Dish”) to pay a record $280 million in civil penalties for violations of the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (“TSR”), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) and state law. In its complaint, the FTC alleged that Dish initiated, or caused a telemarketer to initiate, outbound telephone calls to phone numbers listed on the Do Not Call Registry, in violation of the TSR. The complaint further alleged that Dish violated the TSR’s prohibition on abandoned calls and assisted and facilitated telemarketers when it knew or consciously avoided knowing that telemarketers were breaking the law.

Recently, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton & Williams LLP issued a white paper on Recommendations for Implementing Transparency, Consent and Legitimate Interest under the GDPR (the “White Paper”). The White Paper sets forth guidance and recommendations on the key concepts of transparency, consent and legitimate interest under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).

The Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton & Williams LLP recently submitted formal comments (“Comments”) to the Article 29 Working Party’s (“Working Party’s”) Guidelines on Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) and determining whether processing is “likely to result in a high risk” for the purposes of Regulation 2016/679 (“DPIA Guidelines”) that were adopted on April 4, 2017. CIPL’s Comments follow its December 2016 white paper on Risk, High Risk, Risk Assessments and Data Protection Impact Assessments under the GDPR, which CIPL had submitted to the Working Party as formal initial input to its development of DPIAs and “high-risk” guidance.

On June 1, 2017, the new Cybersecurity Law went into effect in China. This post takes stock of (1) which measures have been passed so far, (2) which ones go into effect on June 1 and (3) which ones are in progress but have yet to be promulgated.

On May 16, 2017, the Governor of the State of Washington, Jay Inslee, signed into law House Bill 1493 (“H.B. 1493”), which sets forth requirements for businesses who collect and use biometric identifiers for commercial purposes. The law will become effective on July 23, 2017. With the enactment of H.B. 1493, Washington becomes the third state to pass legislation regulating the commercial use of biometric identifiers. Previously, both Illinois and Texas enacted the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (740 ILCS 14) (“BIPA”) and the Texas Statute on the Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Ann. §503.001), respectively.

On May 19, 2017, the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) issued a revised draft (the “Revised Draft”) of its Measures for the Security Assessment of Outbound Transmission of Personal Information and Critical Data. The original draft was issued in April 2017, and similar to the original draft, the Revised Draft does not have the impact of law; it does, however, provide an indication of how the CAC’s views on the Cybersecurity Law have evolved since the publication of the original draft. The Revised Draft was issued after the CAC received comments on the original draft from numerous parties.

Privacy and data security issues have become the subject of critical focus in corporate mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and related transactions. In 2016 and 2017, several large transactions, especially those involving telecommunications, entertainment and technology companies, have been impacted by either concerns about the collection and use of personal information or significant information security breaches. The FTC has sharpened its focus on the use of personal information as a factor in evaluating the competitive effects of a given corporate transaction, and the SEC is now closely scrutinizing privacy and data security representations made to investors in public filings connected to transactions. More broadly, privacy and data security problems that are not timely discovered before entering into an M&A transaction can become significant liabilities post-closing and also lead to litigation.

On April 4, 2017, the Article 29 Working Party (the “Working Party”) adopted an Opinion on the Proposed Regulation of the European Commission for the ePrivacy Regulation (the “Proposed ePrivacy Regulation”). The Proposed ePrivacy Regulation is intended to replace the ePrivacy Directive and to increase harmonization of ePrivacy rules in the EU. A regulation is directly applicable in all EU Member States, while a directive requires transposition into national law. 

On April 5, 2017, the Article 29 Working Party (“Working Party”) adopted the final versions of its guidelines (the “Guidelines”) on the right to data portability, Data Protection Officers (“DPOs”) and Lead Supervisory Authority (“SA”), which were first published for comment in December 2016. The final publication of these revised guidelines follows the public consultation which ended in February 2017.

The Cybersecurity Law of China, which was passed in November of 2016, introduced a data localization requirement requiring “operators of key information infrastructure” to retain, within China, critical data and personal information which they collect or generate in the course of operating their business in China. If an entity has a genuine need resulting from a business necessity to transmit critical data or personal information to a destination outside of China, it can do so provided it undergoes a “security assessment.”

On March 28, 2017, the French Data Protection Authority (“CNIL”) published its Annual Activity Report for 2016 (the “Report”) and released its annual inspection program for 2017.

On March 15, 2017, the French data protection authority (the “CNIL”) published a six step methodology and tools for businesses to prepare for the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) that will become applicable on May 25, 2018.

On March 2, 2017, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) published draft guidance regarding the consent requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The guidance sets forth how the ICO interprets the GDPR’s consent requirements, and its recommended approach to compliance and good practice. The ICO guidance precedes the Article 29 Working Party’s guidance on consent, which is expected in 2017.

On February 21, 2017, Sweet & Maxwell published a Guide to the General Data Protection Regulation, written by Hunton & Williams senior consultant attorney Rosemary Jay. The book was released as a companion to Data Protection Law and Practice.

On February 23, 2017, the French Data Protection Authority (“CNIL”) launched an online public consultation on three topics identified by the Article 29 Working Party (“Working Party”) in its 2017 action plan for the implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The three topics are consent, profiling and data breach notification.

On March 6 and 7, 2017, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton & Williams LLP and over 100 public and private sector participants in CIPL’s GDPR Implementation Project will convene in Madrid, Spain, for CIPL’s third major GDPR implementation workshop.

Last month, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China published a full draft of the E-commerce Law (the “Draft”) and is giving the general public an opportunity to comment on the draft through January 26, 2017.

On January 10, 2017, the European Commission announced the final elements of its long-awaited “digital single market” strategy for Europe. The announcement includes two new proposed EU regulations as well as a European Commission Communication, as described below.

On November 9, 2016, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton & Williams LLP and AvePoint released the results of a joint global survey launched in May 2016 concerning organizational preparedness for implementing the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The GDPR replaces Directive 95/46/EC and will become applicable in May 2018.

On November 7, 2016, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China enacted the final Cybersecurity Law after it held its third reading of the draft Cybersecurity Law on October 31, 2016. The first draft of the Cybersecurity Law was published for comment more than a year ago, followed by the second draft in July this year. The final Cybersecurity Law will apply from June 1, 2017.

This post has been updated. 

On October 27, 2016, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) announced the adoption of rules that require broadband Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) to take steps to protect consumer privacy (the “Rules”). According to the FCC’s press release, the Rules are intended to “ensure broadband customers have meaningful choice, greater transparency and strong security protections for their personal information collected by ISPs.” 

Recently, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton & Williams LLP, a privacy and information policy think tank based in Brussels, London and Washington, D.C., and Telefónica, one of the largest telecommunications company in the world, issued a joint white paper on Reframing Data Transparency (the “white paper”). The white paper was the outcome of a June 2016 roundtable held by the two organizations in London, in which senior business leaders, Data Privacy Officers, lawyers and academics discussed the importance of user-centric transparency to the data driven economy.

On October 27, 2016, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) will vote on whether to finalize proposed rules (the "Proposed Rules”) concerning new privacy restrictions for Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”). The Proposed Rules, which revise previous versions introduced earlier this year, would require customers’ explicit (or “opt-in”) consent before an ISP can use or share a customer’s personal data, including web browsing and app usage history, geolocation data, children’s information, health information, financial information, email and other message contents and Social Security numbers.

On September 23, 2016, the French Data Protection Authority ("CNIL") published the results of the Internet sweep on connected devices. The sweep was conducted in May 2016 to assess the quality of the information provided to users of connected devices, the level of security of the data flows and the degree of user empowerment (e.g., user’s consent and ability to exercise data protection rights).

On September 22, 2016, Korean law firm Bae, Kim & Lee LLC released a Legal Update outlining amendments to Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act (“PIPA”) and the Act on the Promotion of IT Network Use and Information Protection (“IT Network Act”).

On September 16, 2016, the Belgian Data Protection Authority (the “Privacy Commission”) published a 13-step guidance document (in French and Dutch) to help organizations prepare for the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).

The 13 steps recommended by the Privacy Commission are summarized below.

Recently, the National Privacy Commission (the “Commission”) of the Philippines published the final text of its Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 10173, known as the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (the “IRR”). The IRR has a promulgation date of August 24, 2016, and went into effect 15 days after the publication in the official Gazette.

Last month, the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other administrative departments jointly published the Interim Measures for the Administration of Operation and Services of E-hailing Taxis (the “Measures”). E-hailing is an increasingly popular business in China and has already become a compelling alternative to the traditional taxi. The Measures seek to regulate this emerging industry, and will come into effect on November 1, 2016. Below is a summary of the key requirements.

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce of the People’s Republic of China published a draft of its Implementing Regulations for the P.R.C. Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers (the “Draft”) for public comment. The draft is open for comment until September 5, 2016.

On July 25, 2016, the Article 29 Working Party (the “Working Party”) and the European Data Protection Supervisor (“EDPS”) released their respective Opinions regarding the review of Directive 2002/58/EC on privacy and electronic communications (the “ePrivacy Directive"). Both the Working Party and the EDPS stressed that new rules should complement the protections available under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).

On July 20, 2016, the French Data Protection Authority (“CNIL”) announced that it issued a formal notice to Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”) about Windows 10, ordering Microsoft to comply with the French Data Protection Act within three months.

Background

Following the launch of Microsoft’s new operation system, Windows 10, in July 2015, the CNIL was alerted by the media and political parties that Microsoft could collect excessive personal data via Windows 10. A group composed of several EU data protection authorities was created within the Article 29 Working Party to examine the issue and conduct investigations in their relevant EU Member States. The CNIL initiated its investigation and carried out seven online inspections in April and June 2016. The CNIL also questioned Microsoft on certain points of its privacy statement.

On July 6, 2016, the UK government decided to close its controversial care.data scheme after concerns were raised about the safeguards in place to protect individuals’ health care data and issues with patient transparency.

On June 28, 2016, the State Internet Information Office of the People’s Republic of China published the Administrative Provisions on Information Services for Mobile Internet Applications (the “App Administrative Provisions”). This is the first regulation that expressly regulates mobile apps in the People’s Republic of China. Before the App Administrative Provisions were published, the P.R.C. Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had published a draft of the Interim Provisions on the Preinstallation and Management of the Distribution of Mobile Intelligent Terminal Applications (“Interim Provisions”). The comment period for the Interim Provisions draft expired six months ago and i’s still uncertain when it will become effective. According to unofficial statistics, domestic app stores have more than 4 million apps in inventory presently, and the number is growing. Those apps will now become highly regulated products under the App Administrative Provisions.

This post has been updated. 

On June 17, 2016, the National Privacy Commission (the “Commission”) of the Philippines released draft guidelines entitled, Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (“IRR”), for public consultation.

Under the IRR, the processing of personal data has to adhere to the principles of transparency, legitimate purpose and proportionality. The IRR defines personal data as personal information, sensitive information and privileged information. Sensitive information refers to personal information about an individual’s race, ethnicity, health, education, genetic or sexual life of a person, proceedings related to an offense committed by a person, health records and tax returns. According to the IRR, the personal information controller should take organizational, physical and technical security measures for data protection. Such security measures include the designation of a privacy officer, limitations on physical access and the adoption of technical and logical security measures.

With the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) enacted and due to come into force in May 2018, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams and AvePoint have launched a global survey to enable organizations to benchmark their readiness for the GDPR. The survey focuses on the key areas of impact and change for organizations under the GDPR, such as consent, legitimate interest, data portability, profiling, privacy impact assessments, DPOs, data transfers and privacy management program.

On May 19, 2016, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) announced that its multistakeholder process to develop best practices to address privacy, transparency and accountability issues related to private and commercial use of unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”) had concluded with the group reaching a consensus on a best practices document. As we previously reported, the NTIA announced in March 2015 the multistakeholder process in response to a Presidential Memorandum issued by the White House in February 2015, which directed NTIA to facilitate discussion between private sector entities to develop standards for commercial UAS use.

On April 26, 2016, Korean law firm Bae, Kim & Lee LLC released a Privacy News Alert outlining amendments to Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act (“PIPA”) and the Act on the Promotion of IT Network Use and Information Protection (“IT Network Act”). According to Tae Uk Kang, partner at Bae, Kim & Lee and author of the alert, these amendments to PIPA and the IT Network Act “reflect the general trend concerning the Korean data privacy policy, which is intended to achieve more stringent regulation (and sanctions) of processing personal information.”

With the recent adoption of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and the significant changes it will require from organizations, AvePoint has joined forces with the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”), a global privacy policy think tank at Hunton & Williams LLP, to launch the first global survey to benchmark organizations’ readiness for the GDPR.

On April 12, 2016, the French Data Protection Authority (“CNIL”) announced that it will participate in a coordinated online audit to analyze the impact of everyday connected devices on privacy. The audit will be coordinated by the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (“GPEN”), a global network of approximately 50 data protection authorities (“DPAs”) from around the world.

On April 14, 2016, after four years of drafting and negotiations, the long awaited EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) has been adopted at the EU level. Following the EU Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs’ vote earlier this week and the EU Parliament in plenary session, the GDPR is now officially EU law and will directly apply in all EU countries, replacing EU and national data protection legislation.

On April 11, 2016, the European Commission launched a public consultation to evaluate and review Directive 2002/58/EC on the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector, also known as the e-Privacy Directive.

Technological advances and the advent of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) have prompted the European Commission to review the e-Privacy Directive, which was last updated in 2009.

On March 22, 2016, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China published drafts of its proposed (1) Specifications for Business Services in Mobile E-commerce (“Mobile E-commerce Specifications”) and (2) Specifications for Business Services in Cross-border E-commerce (“Cross-border E-commerce Specifications”). A public comment period on these drafts is now open. Comments will be accepted until May 31, 2016.

On March 14, 2016, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) published a guide, Preparing for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – 12 Steps to Take Now. The guide, which is a high-level checklist with accompanying commentary, sets out a number of points that should inform organizations’ data privacy and governance programs ahead of the anticipated mid-2018 entry into force of the GDPR.

On December 30, 2015, Taiwan’s Office of the President issued an order to promulgate certain amendments (the “Amendments”) to Taiwan’s Personal Data Protection Law (the “PDPL”). The Amendments revise 12 articles in the PDPL. The Amendments concern the collection and use of sensitive personal data, the form of consent for the collection and use of non-sensitive personal data, and the imposition of criminal liability for violations of certain provisions of the PDPL. The Amendments are expected to become effective in the first half of 2016 on a date to be determined by the Executive Yuan.

On December 27, 2015, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China published the P.R.C. Anti-Terrorism Law. The law was enacted in response to a perceived growing threat from extremists and terrorists, particularly in regions in Western China, and came into effect on January 1, 2016.

On December 17, 2015, after three years of drafting and negotiations, the European Parliament and Council of the European Union reached an informal agreement on the final draft of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (the “Regulation”), which is backed by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

On November 20, 2015, Markus Heyder, Vice President of the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton & Williams LLP, discussed how “transparency is increasingly understood as a core component of addressing the challenges of the modern information economy” and a key catalyst for a productive and innovative information economy in an article entitled Transparency and the Future of Driverless Privacy published by the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

As reported in the Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives Blog:

On November 2, 2015, a putative class action was filed against retailer Big Lots Stores, Inc. in Philadelphia, stemming from allegations that the company “systematically” violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s (“FCRA’s”) “standalone disclosure requirement” by making prospective employees sign a document used as a background check consent form that contained extraneous information. Among other things, the plaintiff alleges that Big Lots’ form violates the FCRA because it includes the following three categories of extraneous information: (1) an “implied liability waiver” (specifically, a statement that the applicant “fully understand[s] that all employment decisions are based on legitimate nondiscriminatory reasons”); (2) state-specific notices; and (3) information on how background information will be gathered and from which sources, statements pertaining to disputing any information, and the name and contact information of the consumer reporting agency.

In late October, the Brazilian Ministry of Justice (the “Ministry”) issued its revised Draft Bill for the Protection of Personal Data (“Draft Bill”). The Ministry released its preliminary draft in January 2015, and the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams LLP (“CIPL”) filed public comments to the draft on May 5, 2015.

On October 27, 2015, David Smith, the UK Deputy Commissioner of the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”), published a blog post commenting on the ongoing Safe Harbor compliance debate in light of the Schrems v. Facebook decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union. His key message to organizations was, “Don’t panic.”

On October 26, 2015, the German federal and state data protection authorities (the “German DPAs”) published a joint position paper on Safe Harbor and potential alternatives for transfers of data to the U.S. (the “Position Paper”).

On October 14, 2015, the data protection authority (“DPA”) in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein (Unabhängiges Landeszentrum für Datenschutz) issued a position paper (the “Position Paper”) on the Safe Harbor Decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU”).

On September 25, 2015, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (the “ICO”) issued a fine of £200,000 (approximately $303,000) to Home Energy & Lifestyle Management Ltd. (“HELM”) for making a large number of automated marketing calls in violation of the UK’s direct marketing laws. This is the largest fine that the ICO has issued to date in connection with automated marketing calls.

On September 11, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) announced that Lyft Inc. (“Lyft”) and First National Bank Corporation (“FNB”) violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) by forcing their users to consent to receive automated text messages as a condition of using their services. The FCC warned that these violations could result in fines if they continue.

On September 2, 2015, the Information Commissioner’s Office (the “ICO”) announced an investigation into the data sharing practices of charities in the United Kingdom. The announcement follows the publication of an article in a UK newspaper highlighting the plight of Samuel Rae, an elderly man suffering from dementia. In 1994, Rae completed a survey, which resulted in a charity collecting his personal data. The charity, in turn, allegedly shared his contact details with other charities, data brokers and third parties. Over the years, some of those charities and third parties are reported to have sent Rae hundreds of unwanted items of mail, requesting donations and, in some cases, attempting to defraud him. The legal basis on which Rae’s details were shared remains unclear, although the ICO has noted that the distribution may have resulted from a simple failure to tick an “opt-out” box on the survey.

On September 2, 2015, the French Data Protection Authority (“CNIL”) published the results of an Internet sweep of 54 websites visited by children and teenagers. The sweep was conducted in May 2015 to assess whether websites that are directed toward, frequently used by or popular among children comply with French data protection law. As we previously reported, the sweep was coordinated by the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (“GPEN”), a global network of approximately 50 data protection authorities (“DPAs”). The CNIL and 28 other DPAs that are members of the GPEN participated in the coordinated online audit. A total of 1,494 websites and apps were audited around the world.

On August 14 and August 26, 2015, the Conference of the Data Protection Commissioners of the Federal Government and the Federal States (Länder) issued a detailed position paper (“Position Paper”) and a press release on the main issues for the trilogue negotiations on the proposed EU General Data Protection Regulation (the “Regulation”). In the Position Paper and press release, the participating German Data Protection Commissioners (“German DPAs”) request the trilogue partners to focus on the following issues:

On August 20, 2015, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams (“CIPL”) filed comments to the Indonesian Draft Regulation proposed by the Minister of Communication and Information (RPM) of the Protection of Personal Data in Electronic Systems. The comments were limited to the issue of cross-border data transfers and were submitted in the form of a new CIPL white paper entitled Cross-Border Data Transfer Mechanisms.

On July 30, 2015, the Bavarian Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) issued a press release stating that it imposed a significant fine on both the seller and purchaser in an asset deal for unlawfully transferring customer personal data as part of the deal.

On August 7, 2015, Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed four bills into law concerning online privacy. The bills, drafted by the Delaware Attorney General, focus on protecting the privacy of website and mobile app users, children, students and crime victims.

On July 28, 2015, the UK Supreme Court announced its decision to grant permission in part for Google Inc. (“Google”) to appeal the England and Wales Court of Appeal’s decision in Google Inc. v Vidal-Hall and Others.

Recent class actions filed against Facebook and Shutterfly are the first cases to test an Illinois law that requires consent before biometric information may be captured for commercial purposes. Although the cases focus on biometric capture activities primarily in the social-media realm, these cases and the Illinois law at issue have ramifications for any business that employs biometric-capture technology, including those who use it for security or sale-and-marketing purposes. In a recent article published in Law360, Hunton & Williams partner, Torsten M. Kracht, and associate, Rachel E. Mossman, discuss how businesses already using these technologies need to keep abreast of new legislation that might affect the legality of their practices, and how businesses considering the implementation of these technologies should consult local rules and statutes before implementing biometric imaging.

On July 10, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released a Declaratory Ruling and Order that provides guidance with respect to several sections of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The Declaratory Ruling and Order responds to 21 separate requests from industry, government and others seeking clarifications regarding the TCPA and related FCC rules.

How do we focus on individuals and ensure meaningful control and the empowerment of individuals in the modern information age? What data privacy tools would drive empowerment in the digital world of today and tomorrow, perhaps more effectively and more nimbly than traditional individual consent? At a time when many countries are legislating or revising their data privacy laws and organizations are searching for best practices to embed in their business models, these questions are more relevant today than ever. In an article published on July 2, 2015, in the International Association of Privacy Professionals’ Privacy Perspective, entitled Empowering Individuals Beyond Consent, Bojana Bellamy and Markus Heyder of the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams argue that consent is no longer the best or only way to provide control and protect individuals. There are alternative and additional tools in our toolkit that can deliver effective data privacy and greater individual empowerment.

On February 5, 2015, the Article 29 Working Party (the “Working Party”) published a letter that responds to a request of the European Commission to clarify the scope of the definition of health data in connection with lifestyle and wellbeing apps. In the annex to this letter, the Working Party identifies criteria to determine when personal data qualifies as “health data,” a special category of data receiving enhanced protection under the EU Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC (the “Directive”). The Working Party further discusses the current legal regime for the processing of such health data and provides its view on the requirements for further processing of health data for historical, statistical and scientific research under the Directive. The letter also includes the Working Party’s recommendations for the regime that should be provided in the proposed EU General Data Protection Regulation (the “Proposed Regulation”).

On December 29, 2014, the Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of the German state Rhineland-Palatinate issued a press release stating that it imposed a fine of €1,300,000 on the insurance group Debeka. According to the Commissioner, Debeka was fined due to its lack of internal controls and its violations of data protection law. Debeka sales representatives allegedly bribed public sector employees during the eighties and nineties to obtain address data of employees who were on path to become civil servants. Debeka purportedly wanted this address data to market insurance contracts to these employees. The Commissioner asserted that the action against Debeka is intended to emphasize that companies must handle personal data in a compliant manner. The fine was accepted by Debeka to avoid lengthy court proceedings.

On November 12, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced that in response to FTC complaints, a federal court has ordered two debt brokerage companies to notify over 70,000 consumers whose sensitive personal information was posted on a public website by the debt brokerage companies.

On October 22, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced that several interrelated online marketing and advertising companies (“Stipulating Defendants”) agreed to pay nearly $10 million to settle allegations that they engaged in a pattern of text message spamming, robocalling and mobile cramming practices in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, and the Telemarketing Sales Rule.

On October 9, 2014, the 88th Conference of the German Data Protection Commissioners concluded in Hamburg. This biannual conference provides a private forum for all German state data protection authorities (“DPAs”) and the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information to share their views on current data protection issues, discuss relevant cases and adopt resolutions aimed at harmonizing how data protection law is applied across Germany. During the conference, several resolutions concerning privacy were adopted.

On October 6, 2014, the Irish Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (“ODPC”) announced its success in bringing prosecution proceedings against M.C.K Rentals Limited (“MCK”), a firm of private investigators, and its two directors, for breaches of the Irish Data Protection Acts 1998 and 2003. Specifically MCK and its directors were found to have (1) obtained personal data without the prior authority of the data controller who was responsible for the data and (2) disclosed the personal data obtained to various third parties.

On September 17, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced that the online review site Yelp, Inc., and mobile app developer TinyCo, Inc., have agreed to settle separate charges that they collected personal information from children without parental consent, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (the “COPPA Rule”).

On September 3, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission announced that Verizon has agreed to pay $7.4 million to settle an FCC Enforcement Bureau investigation into Verizon’s use of personal information for marketing. The investigation revealed that Verizon had used customers’ personal information for marketing purposes over a multiyear period before notifying the customers of their right to opt out of such marketing.

On August 6, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it had approved a safe harbor program submitted by the Internet Keep Safe Coalition (“iKeepSafe”), stating the program provides the “same or greater protections” for children under the age of 13 as those contained in the new Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (the “COPPA Rule”). An updated version of the COPPA Rule came into effect July 1, 2013.

On July 16, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission posted revisions to its Frequently Asked Questions that provide guidance on complying with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (the “COPPA Rule”). The revisions, which are in Section H of the FAQs, address the COPPA Rule requirement that operators of certain websites and online services obtain a parent’s consent before collecting personal information online from a child under the age of 13.

On May 19, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission announced that Sprint Corporation agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle an FCC Enforcement Bureau investigation stemming from allegations that the company failed to honor consumers’ requests to opt out of telemarketing calls and texts. Sprint also agreed to implement a two-year plan to help ensure future compliance with Do-Not-Call registry rules.

On May 1, 2014, the White House released a report examining how Big Data is affecting government, society and commerce. In addition to questioning longstanding tenets of privacy legislation, such as notice and consent, the report recommends (1) passing national data breach legislation, (2) revising the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (“ECPA”), and (3) advancing the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

On April 24, 2014, the Belgian Data Protection Authority (the “Privacy Commission”) published a Draft Recommendation regarding cookie usage, inviting all stakeholders to provide their input on the text. The Draft Recommendation clarifies the Belgian legal framework for the use of cookies and similar technologies, examining in detail the different purposes for which cookies and similar technologies may be used (e.g., authentication, storage of preferences) and explaining the steps to be taken to ensure compliance for each type of cookie use.

The Federal Trade Commission recently acted on three industry proposals in accordance with the new Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (the “COPPA Rule”) that came into effect July 1, 2013. Specifically, the FTC determined that it was unnecessary to rule on a proposed parental consent mechanism, approved a proposed “safe harbor” program and is seeking public comment on a separate proposed “safe harbor” program.

On December 23, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it accepted a proposed mechanism, submitted by Imperium, LLC (“Imperium”), to obtain verifiable parental consent in accordance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (the “COPPA Rule”) that came into effect July 1, 2013.

On December 16, 2013, the French Data Protection Authority (“CNIL”) released a set of practical FAQs (plus technical tools and relevant source code) providing guidance on how to obtain consent for the use of cookies and similar technologies in compliance with EU and French data protection requirements (the “CNIL’s Guidance”). Article 5.3 of the revised e-Privacy Directive 2002/58/EC imposes an obligation to obtain prior consent before placing or accessing cookies and similar technologies on web users’ devices. Article 32-II of the French Data Protection Act transposes this obligation into French law.

On November 4, 2013, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, which is the Chinese regulatory and administrative authority for the insurance sector, issued the Interim Measures for the Management of the Authenticity of Information of Life Insurance Customers (the “Measures”). The Measures require life insurance companies and their agents to ensure the authenticity of personal data of life insurance policy holders. To help achieve this objective, the Measures impose rules for the collection, recording, management and use of the personal data of policy holders.

On November 13, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it denied a proposal submitted by AssertID, Inc. for a mechanism to obtain verifiable parental consent in accordance with the new Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (the “COPPA Rule”) that came into effect July 1, 2013.

On November 26, 2013, Kazakhstan’s new data privacy law, On Personal Data and Their Protection, will come into effect. The law was passed on May 21, 2013. Kazakhstan is the second country in Central Asia to enact a data privacy law, joining the Kyrgyz Republic, which passed the Law on Personal Data in 2008.

On October 16, 2013, the Federal Communications Commission’s revisions to its Telephone Consumer Protection Act rules go into effect. As we previously reported, the revisions require that businesses obtain “express written consent” prior to advertising or telemarketing through (1) autodialed calls or text messages, or prerecorded calls to consumers’ mobile numbers, and (2) prerecorded calls to consumers’ residential lines. In addition, the FCC’s revisions eliminate the exemption that allowed businesses to place prerecorded advertising or telemarketing calls to a consumer’s residential phone line if the business had a pre-existing business relationship with the consumer.

On September 9, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it is seeking public comment on another proposed mechanism (submitted by Imperium, LLC) to obtain verifiable parental consent in accordance with the new Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (the “COPPA Rule”) that came into effect July 1, 2013. This announcement follows on the heels of a similar recent announcement that the Commission is seeking public comment on a parental consent mechanism proposed by a different company.

As reported by Bloomberg BNA, the South African Parliament passed the Protection of Personal Information Bill on August 22, 2013. The bill, which was sent to President Jacob Zuma to be signed into law, represents South Africa’s first comprehensive data protection legislation.

On August 26, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California approved a settlement with Facebook, Inc., related to the company’s alleged misappropriation of certain Facebook members’ personal information, such as names and profile pictures, that was then used in ads to promote products and services via Facebook’s “Sponsored Stories” program.