Bavarian DPA: fines under GDPR to be calculated based on revenues of whole company group; ICO publishes report on data security incident trends.

Bavarian DPA: fines under GDPR to be calculated based on revenues of whole company group

On September 01, 2016, the German Data Protection Authority of Bavaria (BayLDA) has announced that according to their understanding, sanctions under the GDPR will be calculated based on the revenue of a whole company group. According to the authority, this should apply even when only one single entity is responsible for an incident.

In its position paper, the BayLDA elaborates that fines under the GDPR have to be “effective, proportionate, and dissuasive.” For most infringements, the fine can amount up to a maximum of either € 10 million, or 2% of the company’s annual global turnover (the higher will apply). For serious infringements, the fine can even amount up to the higher of € 20 Million or 4% of the respective turnover. The turnover will comprise of the turnover of the whole company group a company belongs to, according to recital 150 of the preamble, which relates to the “economic concept of an undertaking”.

Although the BayLDA’s position paper is non-binding, the interpretations and views published can nevertheless be considered very important hints on how in particular the German Data Protection authorities will interpret and enforce the new Regulation, which will enter into force on 25 May 2018. The European Data Protection Board, a group of representatives of the EU Member States (currently known as Article 29 Working Party), is expected to issue guidelines on the calculation of fines.Continue Reading Privacy & Cybersecurity Weekly News Update – Week of August 28

ICO investigating into Facebook and WhatsApp Data Sharing Plans; Germany and France publish joint action plan against encryption; PrivacyShield now covering 200 U.S. companies.

UK DPA investigating into Facebook and WhatsApp Data Sharing Plans

The United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner (‘ICO’) is taking a closer look into WhatsApp’s plan to share more user data with parent company Facebook for the purposes of targeted advertising.

According to a recent WhatsApp blog post, WhatsApp has changed its Privacy Policy on August 25. This move will allow the company to share further personal information, in particular the mobile phone numbers of its users, with parent company Facebook. According to information published earlier this week, users should have 30 days to decide whether they want to receive targeted advertising, but they should not be allowed to object the data sharing as such.

Actually, the new approach of WhatsApp is not such a big surprise, as similar concerns had already been raised in the debate around the acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook. However, the European Commission had explicitly made clear that the assessment of privacy issues does not fall within its competence as a Competition authority, and approved the merger.Continue Reading Privacy & Cybersecurity Weekly News Update – Week of August 21

First self-certifications accepted under Privacy Shield; EU Commission considers extension of telecommunication rules to apps.

U.S. Department of Commerce accepts first bunch of self-certifications under Privacy Shield

About 2 weeks after the announced start of the certification procedure under the “EU-U.S. Privacy Shield” (‘Privacy Shield’) on August 1, 2016, the U.S. Department of Commerce (‘DoC’) has officially granted certification status to a first set of approximately 40 U.S.-based multinational companies. According to a DoC spokesperson, “nearly 200 additional certifications” are still pending and hundreds more are expected in the next few weeks.

According to the publicly accessible Privacy Shield list, companies already approved under the new framework are predominantly major U.S. tech companies, such as i.a. Microsoft Corporation and Salesforce.

Companies which have not yet registered, but plan to do so, should consider signing up within the next 1 ½ months: for those submitting their certification until September 30, the DoC grants a grace period of 9 months from the date of certification to meet the necessary compliance requirements.Continue Reading Privacy & Cybersecurity Weekly News Update – Week of August 14

EU Commission publishes first results of consultation of e-Privacy Directive; Irish DPA issues Guidance on Location Data.

European Commission publishes summary report on consultation of e-Privacy Directive

On August 4, 2016, the European Commission has published a first summary report on the public consultation on the evaluation and review of the e-Privacy Directive (Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications), also known as ‘e-Privacy’ or ‘Cookie’ Directive.

Two weeks ago, on July 19, 2016, the Article 29 Working Party, an EU advisory body comprised by representatives of the national Data Protection Authorities, had also published a detailed opinion on this issue.

The ‘e-Privacy Directive’, which contains specific rules relating to the processing of personal data in the e-Communications sector, needs to be adapted to the new European General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’), which will replace the former EU Directive 95/46/EC as from May 25, 2016. The GDPR aims to ensure modernized rules and increased harmonization for Privacy in Europe and is part of the European Commission’s Digital Single Market (DSM) Strategy.

The 421 stakeholders in the consultation, of whom more than ¼ are situated in Germany, agree with a vast majority of 83% that specific privacy rules for e-Communication are useful to ensure the confidentiality of communications. In addition, 76% of respondents believe that the Directive should as well apply to so-called ‘over-the-top’ service providers (OTT), when offering VoIP services or instant messaging. However, more than ¾ of the respondents also said that until now, the Directive has achieved its aims only to a limited extent, due to – among others – too little enforcement and compliance pressure.

The Commission’s conclusions drawn from the consultation, as well as proposals on how to adapt the Directive are expected to be released later this year.Continue Reading Privacy & Cybersecurity Weekly News Update Week of August 7

Russians Hack Clinton Campaign System; FTC: LabMD Liable in Data Security Suit; EU Member States issue statement on Privacy Shield; NIS Directive published – Implementation into national law by May 2018; EU Data Protection Supervisor: e-Privacy directive should meet GDPR-requirements.

Clinton Campaign Data Breach brings data security into 2016 campaign yet again

On July 29, an F.B.I. official told the New York Times that computer systems used by the Clinton presidential campaign were hacked in the latest in a string of cybersecurity attacks targeting political entities. The Times noted the attacks appeared to have been carried out by the Russian intelligence services.  These revelations follow news of similar attacks carried out earlier in the summer, including a Russian government hack of the Democratic National Committee’s computer network. Investigations into both attacks are ongoing.

FTC Reasserts Data Security Enforcement Powers in suit against LabMD

Late last week, the FTC issued its long-awaited final order in its investigation of LabMD’s alleged unfair data security practices. FTC filed charges against LabMD, a clinical laboratory used by physicians, for allegedly failing to protect sensitive personal information for over 750,000 patients.  An ALJ had earlier dismissed FTC’s charges, holding that LabMD’s data security practices failed to cause substantial consumer injury. The Commission unanimously reversed that decision.

FTC claimed that LabMD “lack[ed] even basic precautions to protect . . . sensitive consumer information maintained on its computer system. Among other things, it failed to use an intrusion detection system or file integrity monitoring; neglected to monitor traffic coming across its firewalls; provided essentially no data security training to its employees; and never deleted any of the consumer data it had collected.” Firms collecting personal information should note that future FTC enforcement is likely to note the absence of any of these systems as evidence of sub-par data security practices.

This suit follows the FTC’s 2014 victory in the Wyndham case, which validated the FTC’s authority to regulate data security.  For more information on the Wyndham decision, see the Crowell Data Law blog post on the subject.Continue Reading Privacy & Cybersecurity Weekly News Update – Week of July 24

DOJ Proposes Workaround to Microsoft Ruling; United States Joins Irish Facebook Case; St. Louis Cardinals Scouting Director Sentenced to 46 Months; EU’s Advocate General Okays National Data Retention Laws; Data Protection Authority of Hamburg Becomes “Completely Independent”; 9th Circuit Suggests Password Sharing is a Federal Crime

DOJ Seeks Legislative Circumvention of 2nd Circuit’s Microsoft Ruling

Late last week, Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik sent a letter to Vice President Biden (in his role as presiding officer of the U.S. Senate) asking Congress to amend the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) to permit government warrants to reach data stored overseas. This letter was written in response to the Second Circuit’s ruling earlier this month in Microsoft v. U.S., in which the Second Circuit ruled that ECPA’s data seizure provisions did not apply extraterritorially and in which Judge Lynch, in concurrence, called for congressional intervention.  For more information about the Microsoft ruling, please see the Crowell & Moring “Data Law Insights” blog post detailing the court’s decision.

ECPA reform, General Kadzik’s letter argued, will resolve cross-border data access issues for both domestic and foreign governments investigating criminal activity, including terrorism. The proposal seeks to change U.S. law to “authorize law enforcement to obtain electronic data located abroad.” Admonishing the Second Circuit’s decision, General Kadzik noted the “significant public safety implications of the Microsoft decision.”Continue Reading Privacy & Cybersecurity Weekly News Update – Week of July 17

“Pokémon Go” Developer feels the heat over data collection; 2nd Circuit Ruling limits government’s access to data stored overseas; 9th Circuit CFAA Ruling increases Facebook’s control over its Users’ Data; Dutch Study reveals tension between EU Trade Deals and Data Protection

“Pokémon Go” Developer in Hot Water over Extensive Data Collection Practices

In early July, mobile game developer Niantic released “Pokémon Go,” a free-to-download “augmented reality” game for Android and iOS devices. In less than a week, the game had been downloaded by more than 15 million unique users, making the game’s launch one of the most widely-adopted in history. Privacy advocates soon raised serious questions about the game and its accompanying privacy policy, which until July 12 granted full access to users’ Google account data unless users opted-out of such permissions—prompting Niantic to issue its first update resolving the permissions issue.

On July 12, Senator Al Franken (D-MN) sent a letter to Niantic CEO John Hanke demanding the company explain in detail the types of data Niantic collects from players, why that data “in necessary for the provision or improvement of services,” and how the company plans to use the data gathered. Franken’s letter also questioned the company’s opt-out data collection practices, suggesting that “Niantic consider making this collection/access opt-in.”  Franken, who serves as the Ranking Member on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, has in the past spoken out against similar practices by other mobile app developers, including Uber and Lyft. Mr. Hanke has until August 12 to respond to Sen. Franken’s questions.Continue Reading Privacy & Cybersecurity Weekly News Update- Week of July 9

Article 31 Committee approves Privacy Shield; House Cuts FCC Funding Over Attempted Broadband Privacy Regulations; No Charges for Clinton in Data Security Probe; European Commission launches public-privacy partnership on cybersecurity; European Parliament adopts NIS Directive; Privacy Code of Conduct for mHealth app providers finalized; French parliament about to make French Privacy act more severe; Russia introduces new data retention obligations.

Article 31 Committee approves Privacy Shield

On July 8, 2016, the Article 31 Committee has finally given its support for the adoption of the “EU-U.S. Privacy Shield”, the new framework for cross-Atlantic data transfers.

For more details, please see our latest client alert here.

House Defunds FCC’s Data Privacy Efforts for Broadband Providers

On July 7, the House of Representatives voted to cut off funding for the FCC’s proposed privacy regulations of broadband service providers. The measure, attached as an amendment to the 2017 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill, cut the FCC’s funding by more than 17%. Calling the FCC’s proposed rules “extreme,” Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), the amendment’s author, claimed the measure was necessary to reassert the Federal Trade Commission’s status as the go-to federal data privacy regulator. The FCC, Rep. Blackburn asserted, “simply doesn’t have the requisite technical expertise to regulate privacy.”

The proposed regulations, which the FCC announced in March 2016, would require ISPs to disclose how data regarding customers’ online activities could be collected and recorded. These proposed rules represented the FCC’s first major attempt to regulate broadband providers in the aftermath of the agency’s February 2015 decision to treat broadband as a public utility. Several broadband providers had expressed public reservations about the FCC’s proposed rulemaking and actively lobbied legislators to act. The bill, which passed in a 239-185 vote, next heads to the Senate for consideration.Continue Reading Privacy & Cybersecurity Weekly News Update- Week of July 3

The recent arrests of Chinese nationals for alleged economic espionage are raising eyebrows across American industries, who are rightfully asking how they can protect themselves from becoming the next foreign target. U.S. universities have been key figures in these headlines. The risk of economic espionage is a serious one for higher education because universities are