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 […]
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German DPA Publishes First Privacy Shield Guidelines, Requires German-Law Contracts for Transfers
On June 7, 2016, the European Commission adopted the US-EU Privacy Shield. Companies that self-certify under Privacy Shield with the US Department of Commerce – dubbed “Privacy Shield organizations” – are thus officially recognized by the EU as providing an adequate level of protection for data transferred from the EU. As a result, Privacy Shield […]
European Council Adopts the Network and Information Security Directive
On May 17, 2016, the European Council formally adopted its position at first reading of the Network and Information Security Directive (“NIS Directive”). The objective of the NIS Directive is to increase cooperation between EU Member States on issues of network and information security. Companies subject to the NIS Directive are required to adopt “appropriate […]
EU Privacy Leaders Discuss US-EU Privacy Shield at Event Co-Hosted by A&B Partner
On March 22, 2016, the International Association of Privacy Professional (IAPP) hosted a podium discussion in Brussels on the new EU-US Privacy Shield. Alston & Bird co-hosted the event, which featured two top-notch privacy luminaries from EU legislative and oversight bodies: Mr. Giovanni Buttarelli, the present European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). Mr. Bruno Gencarelli, Head […]
Judicial Redress Act Enacted
Yesterday evening, President Obama signed the Judicial Redress Act (“the Act”) into law. The Act extends the 1974 “Privacy Act” and provides qualifying non-U.S. individuals with limited rights to review, copy, and request amendments to records about themselves maintained by federal government agencies. We previously examined a draft of the bill on this blog here. […]