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 […]
Privacy & Cybersecurity Litigation
Supreme Court Denies Cert in Leading Case on Internet Tracking and Analytics
The Supreme Court recently declined to review In re Google Inc. Cookie Placement Consumer Privacy Litigation—a consolidated class action alleging that Google and third-party advertisers evaded web browser privacy settings, causing cookies to be placed on plaintiffs’ computers. 806 F.3d 125 (3d Cir. 2015), cert. denied sub nom. Gourley v. Google, Inc., 84 U.S.L.W. 3531 […]
Eighth Circuit Decision Interpreting Spokeo Shows Impact of Supreme Court Decision on Privacy Actions
In issuing its decision in Braitberg v. Charter Communications, the Eighth Circuit recently became the first federal appellate court to issue a published opinion interpreting Spokeo and, as predicted, shows that the Supreme Court’s ruling will have a significant impact on the viability of privacy-related claims. In Braitberg, the plaintiff alleged that Charter indefinitely retained […]
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 Will Not Be Able to Challenge Privacy Shield this Year
Even before the ECJ’s Schrems decision invalidated Safe Harbor, the European Commission had begun working closely with US negotiators to craft what has become the U.S.-EU Privacy Shield. While EU privacy leaders have noted that Privacy Shield represents important improvements in data protection, some German DPAs have voiced a desire to challenge Privacy Shield in […]