Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems’ organization, NOYB – Center for Digital Rights, filed complaints against Google (Android), Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook on May 25th, the same day on which the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became effective. NOYB filed the complaints based on the GDPR with supervisory authorities in France, Belgium, Germany and Austria. […]
Privacy & Cybersecurity Litigation
Georgia Court of Appeals Reaffirms Lack of Duty to Safeguard Personal Information
The Georgia Court of Appeals recently reaffirmed its prior conclusion that there is no duty to safeguard personal information under Georgia law. In McConnell v. Ga. Dep’t of Labor, — S.E.2d —-, 2018 WL 2173252 (Ga. App. May 11, 2018), the Court of Appeals addressed whether a plaintiff whose social security number and other personal […]
Seventh Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Schnuck Markets Data Breach Lawsuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action brought by financial institutions against Schnuck Markets, Inc., following a data breach impacting Schnuck beginning late 2012. The plaintiffs attempted to assert claims of negligence, negligence per se, various contract claims, and violation of Illinois consumer […]
Irish High Court Refers Schrems 2.0 to the ECJ
On April 11, Justice Caroline Costello of the Irish High Court referred the Schrems 2.0 case to the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) with 11 questions for the ECJ to answer. Per Justice Costello, the sole issue in the case is whether the European Commission’s Decisions regarding standard contractual clauses (SCCs) are […]
The CLOUD Act and its Impact on Cross-Border Access to the Contents of Communications
On Friday morning, March 23, President Trump signed the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill into law, including the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act, and in doing so established a sea change in the rules for cross-border government access to the contents of electronic communications. The CLOUD Act consists of three core components: […]