The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (“Privacy Shield”) is already under challenge before the European courts, after having been approved only some months ago by the European Commission (“EU Commission”). The European courts’ website records that an action for annulment has been brought by Digital Rights Ireland, the privacy and digital rights advocacy organization, before the General […]
International
ECJ Declares IP Addresses are Personal Data
Today, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued its long-awaited decision in Breyer v. Germany. Breyer addresses the question of whether IP addresses are “personal data” for purposes of EU data protection law. As is widely known, personal data is any information that would permit a particular individual to be identified, whether directly or in […]
Austrian Supreme Court Refers Schrems Consumer Class Action to ECJ
Just under a year ago today, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued its Schrems decision, which invalidated Safe Harbor and led to substantial developments in US-EU data-transfer mechanisms. In parallel to the ECJ Safe Harbor litigation, Mr. Schrems has maintained two further legal proceedings in the EU: (1) a challenge in the Irish courts […]
German DPAs to Create Model Processing Records for GDPR Compliance
On May 25, 2018, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) enters into force. One of the major changes the GDPR introduces is a duty for in-scope controllers and processors to maintain written records of processing activities. Under Article 30 GDPR, companies will need to inventory all “processing activities under [their] responsibility” and memorialize them […]
Department of Commerce Announces First Privacy Shield Participants
Over the weekend, the Department of Commerce’s Privacy Shield website was updated to show the first participants in the U.S.-EU Privacy Shield. In total, about 45 companies have registered for Privacy Shield. Prominent examples include Microsoft Corp. (along with 20 subsidiaries), Salesforce, and corporate-travel giant World Travel, Inc. Companies with questions about Privacy Shield are […]