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France made headlines on 21 January 2019 for fining Google US$57 million – the first large fine to be issued for violations of the European Union’s newly implemented General Data Protection Regulations. GDPR, as it’s called, is meant to ensure consumers’ personal information is appropriately used and protected by companies. It also creates procedures to sanction companies who misuse information. Continue reading
Most of us have been bombarded recently by a barrage of emails from companies begging us to “stay in touch” or “opt in” or informing us of a “policy update”. On May 25, an historic date for the internet, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force. For some, it is the start of a more citizen-focused world, for others it will see the collapse of their digital marketing strategy. Continue reading
I have recently posted a paper on SSRN entitled “Compensation for breach of the General Data Protection Regulation”; this is the abstract: Continue reading
The case of Bogomolova v. Russia concerns the use of an unauthorised photograph of a minor’s face on the front page of a booklet promoting adoption and help for orphans. It proves that the publication of pictures of children without parental consent may have a significant social impact on the family and may violate Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), protecting the right to private and family life. Continue reading
In a recent blog post, I discussed the role of EU Member State laws in defining and enforcing the “Right to Be Forgotten” (RTBF) under the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). I consider these GDPR provisions in more detail in my forthcoming article. Because in the future RTBF may be applied to hosting services like Facebook or Dailymotion, I discuss potential consequences for them as well as search engines. Continue reading
The EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into effect in the spring of 2018, bringing with it a newly codified version of the “Right to Be Forgotten” (RTBF). Depending how the new law is interpreted, this right could prove broader than the “right to be de-listed” established in 2014’s Google Spain case. Continue reading
The probably-really-almost-totally final 2016 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is here! Lawyers around the world have been hunkered down, analyzing its 200-plus pages. In the “Right to Be Forgotten” (RTBF) provisions, not much has changed from prior drafts. The law still sets out a notice and takedown process that strongly encourages Internet intermediaries to delete challenged content, even if the challenge is legally groundless. Continue reading
On 15 December 2015 it was announced that the EU Council, Commission and Parliament had finally agreed the text of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) [pdf]. Continue reading
Europe’s pending General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) threatens free expression and access to information on the Internet. The threat comes from erasure requirements that work in ways the drafters may not have intended — and that are not necessary to achieve the Regulation’s data protection purposes. Continue reading
This is one of a series of posts about the pending EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and its consequences for intermediaries and user speech online. In an earlier introduction and FAQ, I discussed the GDPR’s impact on both data protection law and Internet intermediary liability law. Developments culminating in the GDPR have put these two very different fields on a collision course – but they lack a common vocabulary and are in many cases animated by different goals. Laws addressing concerns in either field without consideration for the concerns of the other can do real harm to users’ rights to privacy, freedom of expression, and freedom to access information online. Continue reading
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