Intensifying Negotiations on transatlantic Data Privacy Flow
The U.S. Government and the European Commission have decided to intensify negotiations on an enhanced EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework
EU
EU Data Privacy Watchdogs Urged to Sort Out ‘Public Squabbles’
European Union privacy regulators must sort out their “public squabbles” over the enforcement of the bloc’s data-protection rules or its executive body may consider moving to a more centralized model to target violations.
EDPB Releases Guidelines on Virtual Voice Assistants
On March 12, 2021, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published its Guidelines 01/2021 on Virtual Voice Assistants (VVA) for consultation.
Civil Liberties Committee calls for further improvements to the GDPR implementation and strengthened enforcement
Civil Liberties Committee adopted on March 16 the draft resolution evaluating the GDPR and called for effective enforcement and adequate resources for supervisory authorities.
The End of the Privacy of Digital Correspondence
The EU wants to have all private chats, messages, and emails automatically searched for suspicious content, generally and indiscriminately.
EU ministers want EU-wide data retention.
The great majority of EU justice ministers on March 15 once again called a new Europe-wide collection of traffic and location data of the entire population (data retention).
ePrivacy Regulation update: Comparison of the three EU drafts
The EUinstitutions will seek to agree the final text of the ePrivacy Regulation. This article sets out the significant areas of divergence across the three proposals.
Commission ‘not naive’ about UK’s data ambitions, Reynders assures MEPs
However, EU lawmakers in Brussels doubt that the UK’s future data protection landscape will be fully aligned with EU data protection standards
Wave of Legal Appeals Challenges How European Regulators Enforce Privacy Rules
Nearly three years after a sweeping privacy law took effect in Europe, regulators are seeing more sanction decisions challenged and overturned as companies file appeals.
Surveillance Concerns Could Hold Up European-U.S. Data Agreement for Years
One of the European Union’s top officials has warned negotiations with the U.S. over a new data-transfer agreement could take years rather than months.
CJEU rules electronic communication location data must only be used in investigations of ’serious crime’
Location data drawn from electronic communications must only be used by law enforcement investigations involving ‘serious crimes’ and to prevent ‘serious threats to public security’, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) has ruled.
A New Day for GDPR Damages Claims in Germany?
Claims for non-material damages – have been relatively low. However, a more recent decision issued by the Federal Constitutional Court indicates courts may soon be willing to entertain higher damages claims.