EU Privacy

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A thorny issue for companies has been how to handle data derived from personal information. Is it still personal information? Do privacy laws apply? The EU Court of Justice of grappled with this issue in a September decision. The case arose following a Spanish bank’s financial difficulties. Its regulatory agency, the European Single Resolution Board, stepped in to attempt to value some of the bank’s investments and otherwise determine next steps. As part of the process, the board hired a consulting firm to analyze feedback from the bank’s shareholders and creditors. The board collected the information, pseudonymized the data, and then sent the pseudonymized data set to the consulting firm.Continue Reading EU Weighs in on Pseudonymized Data

The Belgian Data Protection Authority recently ruled that a Belgian government entity, FPS Finance, cannot transfer the personal data of “accidental Americans” to the IRS. According to the decision, the transfers needed to cease for several reasons.Continue Reading Belgian DPA Finds Certain Tax Information Transfers to IRS Unlawful

Right of erasure (or “right to be forgotten”) has been selected by the European Data Protection Board as its priority enforcement topic for 2025. This work is being done under the “Coordinated Enforcement Framework” or “CEF.” The EDPB created the CEF in 2022 as a way to streamline and coordinate enforcement across EU data protection authorities. Past topics have included the right of access, and the role of data protection officers in organizations.Continue Reading Forget It!: EDPB Announces Focus on Right to Erasure in 2025

At the end of 2024 the Italian Data Protection Authority issued a 15 million euro fine in the first generative AI-related case brought under GDPR. According to Garante (the Italian authority), OpenAI trained ChatGPT with users’ personal data without first identifying a proper legal basis for the activity, as required under GDPR. The Order also alleges that OpenAI failed to notify Garante about a data breach the company experienced in March 2023. Additionally, the Order states that OpenAI did not provide proper age verification mechanisms for users under age 13. Continue Reading Don’t Forget the EU: Italy Issued First GenAI Fine of €15 Million Alleging GDPR Violations 

The European Data Protection Board issued draft guidelines last month that outline when processing can be considered done for “legitimate interest.” The public has until November 20 to provide comments to the draft.Continue Reading How Legitimate Is Your Business Interest? The EDPB Has Some Thoughts

The EDPB released guidance last month to help companies understand their obligations when using newer tracking tools. These include pixels, URL tracking, IP-tracking, and the like. First, some background: an EU law that predates GDPR (Directive 2002/58/EC or the Cookie Directive), impacted how companies could interact with users on their computers. That directive was updated in 2009 (Directive 2009/136/EC or the ePrivacy Directive). Under the ePrivacy Directive, among other things, companies cannot “store” or “access” someone’s “terminal equipment” without consent. (There are some exceptions to the consent requirement.) In this recent guidance, the EDPB provided direction on when and whether passive tracking technologies were storing or accessing information on a users’ computer (or other device) such that the ePrivacy Directive requirements would apply.Continue Reading EDPB Provides Insight for Use of Tracking Tools

The EU Regulation on horizontal cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements, the so-called Cyber Resilience Act, has been officially adopted on 10 October 2024 and will be published in the EU’s official journal in the coming weeks. This law will impose important obligations on manufacturers of connected products and those placing them onto the EU market. Implementation will begin in 2026 for certain portions of the law, and continue until 2027/2028 for some provisions. There are several elements for a company to keep in mind, which we have outlined below.Continue Reading EU Cybersecurity Regulation Adopted, Impacts Connected Products

As we enter the end of the summer, the AI regulatory steam is not slowing down. Colorado is now the first US state to have a comprehensive AI law (going into effect February 1, 2026), and the EU published its sweeping AI law in July (with rolling applicability between February 2025 and August 2026).Continue Reading AI Summer Roundup: EU and Colorado Celebrate Summer with AI Legislation

As more and more states enact laws that mirror aspects of GDPR, and as companies begin to get used to the EU’s new standard contractual clauses, now may be a good opportunity for a refresh on data sharing agreements. As most in the privacy space are well aware, the laws in many states -and countries- call for certain oversight in these situations. And many require specific content to be included in contracts. What might you want to include in your contract roadmap?Continue Reading DPA 101: Do You Know Where Your Data Is?

This month the EDPB shed light on the question of lead supervisory authorities. The issue arose in response to a question late last month from the French supervisory authority. Some background. As most international organizations are aware, GDPR provides for a “lead” supervisory authority where companies have their “main establishment” in that location. In the event, for example, if an investigation into a company’s violation of a particular provision of GDPR, the lead supervisory authority would be the sole authority to pursue the problem. This question can also come up when companies are trying to determine what authority to notify of a data breach. Without a lead supervisory authority, all supervisory authorities where there are data subjects would be able to participate.Continue Reading EDPB Provides Guidance on Determining Primary Supervisory Authority

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) clarified in two judgments in the last month of 2023 (Deutsche Wohnen, ECLI:EU:C:2023:950 [DW] and Nacionalinis visuomenės sveikatos centras, ECLI:EU:C:2023:949 [NVSC]) the conditions under which data protection authorities across the EU may impose fines on companies for violations of the GDPR. Specifically, when those violations were committed either by unidentifiable employees at a company (DW) or by third parties (NVSC).Continue Reading CJEU Decision Will Have Impact on Potential Fine Setting Under GDPR