Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On May 28, 2014, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper nominated Daniel Therrien as the next Privacy Commissioner of Canada. If approved, Therrien would take over from the interim Privacy Commissioner Chantal Bernier, who has been serving in this role after the previous Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart’s term ended in December 2013.

Hunton & Williams LLP is pleased to announce that Chambers and Partners has listed the firm’s Global Privacy and Cybersecurity practice in Band 1 in the 2014 Chambers USA guide. This is the seventh consecutive year the firm was top ranked in this category. In addition, partner and chair of the firm’s Global Privacy and Cybersecurity practice group Lisa Sotto again was recognized as a “Star” performer (the guide’s highest ranking) for privacy and data security.

On May 14, 2014, Hunton & Williams’ Global Privacy and Cybersecurity practice group hosted the latest webcast in its Hunton Global Privacy Update series. The program provided a global overview of some of the most debated topics in data protection and privacy, including cross-border data flows, global data breach issues and the EU Cybersecurity Directive. In addition, we highlighted the latest information regarding the GPEN enforcement sweep.

On May 23, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced that the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection sent a letter to the court overseeing the bankruptcy proceedings for ConnectEDU Inc. (“ConnectEDU”), an education technology company, warning that the proposed sale of the company’s assets raises privacy concerns. ConnectEDU’s assets include personal information collected from students, high schools and community colleges in connection with the company’s website and affiliated services.

On May 22, 2014, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 3361, a bill aimed at limiting the federal government’s ability to collect bulk phone records and increasing transparency regarding decisions by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (“FISC”). The bill was approved by a vote of 323-121 by majorities of both Democrat and Republican members of the United States House of Representatives. It now moves to the Senate where it is likely to pass.

On May 16, 2014, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced the members of the Virginia Cyber Security Commission, including the appointment of Hunton & Williams LLP’s Paul M. Tiao. Tiao, one of eleven citizen members elected to the group, is a partner in the firm’s Global Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group.

On May 21, 2014, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issued guidance for businesses (“Guidance”) on how to comply with recent updates to the California Online Privacy Protection Act (“CalOPPA”). The recent updates to CalOPPA include requirements that online privacy notices disclose how a site responds to “Do Not Track” signals, and whether third parties may collect personal information about consumers who use the site. In an accompanying press release, the Attorney General stated that the Guidance is intended to provide a “tool for businesses to create clear and transparent privacy policies that reflect the state’s privacy laws and allow consumers to make informed decisions.” The Guidance is not legally binding; it is intended to encourage companies to draft transparent online privacy notices.

On May 13, 2014, the European Court of Justice (the “CJEU”) rendered its judgment in Google Spain S.L. and Google Inc. v Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (Case C-131/12, “Google v. AEPD” or the “case”). The case concerns a request made by a Spanish individual, Mr. Costeja, to the Spanish Data Protection Authority (Agencia Española de Protección de Datos or “AEPD”) to order the removal of certain links from Google’s search results. The links relate to an announcement in an online newspaper of a real estate auction for the recovery of Mr. Costeja’s social security debts. The information was lawfully published in 1998, but Mr. Costeja argued that the information had become irrelevant as the proceedings concerning him had been fully resolved for a number of years. The AEPD upheld the complaint and ordered Google Spain S.L. and Google Inc. (“Google”) to remove the links from their search results. Google appealed this decision before the Spanish High Court, which referred a series of questions to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling. The ECJ ruled as follows:

On May 19, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission announced that Sprint Corporation agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle an FCC Enforcement Bureau investigation stemming from allegations that the company failed to honor consumers’ requests to opt out of telemarketing calls and texts. Sprint also agreed to implement a two-year plan to help ensure future compliance with Do-Not-Call registry rules.

On May 19, 2014, the French Data Protection Authority (the “CNIL”) published its Annual Activity Report for 2013 (the “Report”) highlighting its main accomplishments in 2013 and outlining some of its priorities for the upcoming year.