Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On July 9, 2019, the hearing in the so-called Schrems II case (case C-311/18) took place at the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) in Luxembourg. The main parties involved in the proceedings, the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (“Irish DPA”), Facebook Ireland Ltd. and the Austrian activist Max Schrems, presented their arguments to the court. In addition, a number of other stakeholders intervened during the hearing, including representatives of the European Parliament, the European Commission, the European Data Protection Board, several EU Member States (including Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK) and the U.S. government, as well as a number of industry lobby groups and the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

On June 20, 2019, the Senate confirmed Keith Krach as Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and Environment. The former DocuSign and Ariba CEO, nominated by President Trump in January of 2019, will function as the permanent ombudsperson for the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield agreement as part of his role, addressing complaints related to U.S. protection of EU data.

On June 14, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it has taken action against a number of companies that allegedly misrepresented their compliance with the EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield frameworks (collectively, the “Privacy Shield”) and other international privacy agreements.

On June 13, 2019, the Cyberspace Administration of China (the “CAC”) released Draft Measures on Security Assessment of Cross-Border Transfer of Personal Information (“Draft Measures”) for public comment, the window for which ends July 13, 2019.

As reported by Bloomberg Law, on May 24, 2019, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (the “OPC”) suspended its public consultation on transborder data flows (the “Consultation”). The suspension follows the announcement of the Digital Charter by the Canadian government, which puts forward principles for digital reform, including improvements to Canadian privacy law.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) published a white paper entitled “Promoting Public Safety, Privacy, and the Rule of Law Around the World: The Purpose and Impact of the CLOUD Act” (“White Paper”). The Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (the “CLOUD Act”) was enacted in March 2018 by the U.S. government to aid foreign and U.S. investigators in obtaining access to electronic information related to serious crimes and held by service providers. The CLOUD Act authorizes the U.S. to enter into bilateral agreements with foreign countries that abide by a baseline standard for rule-of-law, privacy and civil liberties protections to streamline processes for obtaining electronic evidence. The CLOUD Act also codifies the principle that a company subject to U.S. jurisdiction “can be required to produce data the company controls, regardless of where it is stored at any point in time.”

The European Commission (the “Commission”) has released a long-awaited study on GDPR data protection certification mechanisms (the “Study”). As we previously reported, the Commission announced its intention to look into GDPR certifications in January of 2018.

On March 28, 2019, the French data protection authority (“CNIL”) published a “Model Regulation” addressing the use of biometric systems to control access to premises, devices and apps at work. The Model Regulation lays down binding rules for data controllers who are subject to French data protection law and process employee biometric data for such purposes. The CNIL also released a related set of questions and answers (“FAQs”).

During the week of February 25, 2019, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP participated in the meetings of the APEC Data Privacy Subgroup (“DPS”) and Electronic Commerce Steering Group (“ECSG”) in Santiago, Chile. CIPL enjoys formal guest status and a seat at the table at these bi-annual APEC privacy meetings.

The Belgian Data Protection Authority (the “Belgian DPA”) recently published on its website a form to be completed for prior consultation in the context of a data protection impact assessment (“DPIA”).

On January 15, 2019, the UK House of Commons rejected the draft Brexit Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the UK Prime Minister and the EU by a margin of 432-202. While the magnitude of the loss sets in motion a process which could potentially have resulted in an early general election being held, on January 16 a majority of British Members of Parliament rejected a vote of no confidence in Theresa May’s government.

On December 21, 2018, the Irish Data Protection Commission (the “DPC”) published preliminary guidance on data transfers to and from the UK in the event of a “no deal” Brexit (the “Guidance”). The Guidance is relevant for any Irish entities that transfer personal data to the UK, including Northern Ireland.

On December 20, 2018, the Department of Commerce updated its frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) on the EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Frameworks (collectively, the “Privacy Shield”) to clarify the effect of the UK’s planned withdrawal from the EU on March 29, 2019. The FAQs provide information on the steps Privacy Shield participants must take to receive personal data from the UK in reliance on the Privacy Shield after Brexit.

The Agency of Access to Public Information (Agencia de Acceso a la Información Pública) (“AAIP”) has approved a set of guidelines for binding corporate rules (“BCRs”), a mechanism that multinational companies may use in cross-border data transfers to affiliates in countries with inadequate data protection regimes under the AAIP.

On November 23, 2018, both Australia and Chinese Taipei joined the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (“CBPR”) system. The system is a regional multilateral cross-border transfer mechanism and an enforceable privacy code of conduct and certification developed for businesses by the 21 APEC member economies.

On November 23, 2018, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) published its long-awaited draft guidelines on the extraterritorial application of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) (the “Guidelines”). To date, there has been a degree of uncertainty for organizations regarding the scope of the GDPR’s application outside of the EU. While the Guidelines provide some clarity on this issue, questions will remain for non-EU controllers and processors. Importantly, these Guidelines are only in draft form and are open for consultation until January 18, 2019, which will give organizations an opportunity to provide comments and raise additional questions in an effort to obtain further clarification from the EDPB on these important scoping questions.

On October 19, 2018, European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Věra Jourová and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross issued a joint statement regarding the second annual review of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, taking place in Brussels beginning October 18. The statement highlights the following:

On September 30, 2018, the U.S., Mexico and Canada announced a new trade agreement (the “USMCA”) aimed at replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement. Notably, the USMCA’s chapter on digital trade recognizes “the economic and social benefits of protecting the personal information of users of digital trade” and will require the U.S., Canada and Mexico (the “Parties”) to each “adopt or maintain a legal framework that provides for the protection of the personal information of the users[.]” The frameworks should include key principles such as: limitations on collection, choice, data quality, purpose specification, use limitation, security safeguards, transparency, individual participation and accountability.

On September 27, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement agreement with four companies - IDmission, LLC, (“IDmission”) mResource LLC (doing business as Loop Works, LLC) (“mResource”), SmartStart Employment Screening, Inc. (“SmartStart”), and VenPath, Inc. (“VenPath”) - over allegations that each company had falsely claimed to have valid certifications under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework. The FTC alleged that SmartStart, VenPath and mResource continued to post statements on their websites about their participation in the Privacy Shield after allowing their certifications to lapse. IDmission had applied for a Privacy Shield certification but never completed the necessary steps to be certified.

Recently, the UK Information Commissioner's Office (“ICO”) fined credit rating agency Equifax £500,000 for failing to protect the personal data of up to 15 million UK individuals. The data was compromised during a cyber attack that occurred between May 13 and July 30, 2017, which affected 146 million customers globally. Although Equifax’s systems in the U.S. were targeted, the ICO found the credit agency's UK arm, Equifax Ltd, failed to take appropriate steps to ensure that its parent firm, which processed this data on its behalf, had protected the information. The ICO investigation uncovered a number of serious contraventions of the UK Data Protection Act 1998 (the “DPA”), resulting in the ICO imposing on Equifax Ltd the maximum fine available.

On September 5, 2018, the European Commission (the “Commission”) announced in a press release the launch of the procedure to formally adopt the Commission’s adequacy decision with respect to Japan.

Recently, the Department of Commerce updated its frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) on the EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Frameworks (collectively, the “Privacy Shield”) to provide additional clarification on a wide range of topics, including transfers of personal information to third parties, the application of the Privacy Shield Principles to data processors, and the relation of the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (“CLOUD Act”) to the Privacy Shield. Certain key insights from the updated FAQs are outlined below:

• Data processors. When ...

On July 10, 2018, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP submitted formal comments to the European Data Protection Board (the “EDPB”) on its draft guidelines on certification and identifying certification criteria in accordance with Articles 42 and 43 of the GDPR (the “Guidelines”). The Guidelines were adopted by the EDPB on May 25, 2018, for public consultation.

On July 17, 2018, the European Union and Japan successfully concluded negotiations on a reciprocal finding of an adequate level of data protection, thereby agreeing to recognize each other’s data protection systems as “equivalent.” This will allow personal data to flow safely between the EU and Japan, without being subject to any further safeguards or authorizations. 

During the week of June 25, 2018, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP hosted its annual executive retreat in San Francisco, California. The annual event consisted of a closed pre-retreat session for CIPL members, a CIPL Panel at the APPA Forum Open session followed by a CIPL reception and dinner and a special all day workshop with data protection commissioner members of the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (“APPA”) on Accountable AI.

On July 5, 2018, the European Parliament issued a nonbinding resolution (“the Resolution”) that calls on the European Commission to suspend the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield unless U.S. authorities can “fully comply” with the framework by September 1, 2018. The Resolution states that the data transfer mechanism does not provide the adequate level of protection for personal data as required by EU data protection law. The Resolution takes particular aim at potential access to EU residents’ personal data by U.S. national security agencies and law enforcement, citing the passage of the CLOUD Act as having “serious implications for the EU, as it is far-reaching and creates a potential conflict with the EU data protection laws.”

On July 2, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission announced that California company ReadyTech Corporation (“ReadyTech”) agreed to settle FTC allegations that ReadyTech misrepresented it was in the process of being certified as compliant with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (“Privacy Shield”) framework for lawfully transferring consumer data from the European Union to the United States. The FTC finalized this settlement on October 17, 2018.

On May 30, 2018, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”), replacing the Article 29 Working Party, published the final version of Guidelines 2/2018 on derogations in the context of international data transfers and draft Guidelines 1/2018 on certification under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). 

On March 20, 2018, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership ("CIPL") at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP issued a factsheet outlining relevant GDPR provisions for negotiations surrounding the proposed ePrivacy Regulation (the "Factsheet").

On March 26, 2018, the U.S. Department of Commerce posted an update on the actions it has taken between January 2017 and March 2018 to support the EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Frameworks (collectively, the “Privacy Shield”). The update details measures taken in support of commercial and national security issues relating to the Privacy Shield.

On March 26, 2018, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams LLP and AvePoint released its second Global GDPR Readiness Report (the “Report”), detailing the results of a joint global survey launched in July 2017 concerning organizational preparedness for implementing the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The Report tracks the GDPR implementation efforts of over 235 multinational organizations, and builds on the findings of the first Global GDPR Readiness Report by providing insights on key changes in readiness levels from 2016 to 2017.

On March 6, 2018, Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information announced that Singapore has joined the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (“CBPR”) and Privacy Recognition for Processors (“PRP”) systems. As we previously reported, Singapore submitted its intent to join both systems in July 2017.

On January 30, 2018, the UK Court of Appeal ruled that the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (“DRIPA”) was inconsistent with EU law. The judgment, pertaining to the now-expired act, is relevant to current UK surveillance practices and is likely to result in major amendments to the Investigatory Powers Act (“IP Act”), the successor of DRIPA.

As we previously reported, this October, the EU Commission released its report and accompanying working document on the first annual review of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework. On November 28, 2017, the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party (the “Working Party”) adopted an opinion on the review (the “Opinion”). While the Opinion notes that the Working Party “welcomes the various efforts made by US authorities to set up a comprehensive procedural framework to support the operation of the Privacy Shield,” the Opinion also identifies some remaining concerns and ...

On November 23, 2017, the Australian Attorney-General’s Department announced that it will move forward with an application to participate in the APEC Cross Border Privacy Rules (“CBPR”) system. The announcement follows comments received from a July 2017 consultation by the Australian Government regarding the implications of Australia’s possible participation in the system. Over the next months, the Attorney-General’s Department will work with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and businesses to implement the CBPR system requirements.

On November 20, 2017, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) published an article on its blog containing advice on applications for Binding Corporate Rules (“BCRs”) to comply with requirements under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). BCRs, which are one of the legal mechanisms available to support transfers of personal data outside the EEA, are codified under the GDPR, prompting a number of companies to explore the possibility of applying for BCR authorization. In its article, the ICO stressed that it will continue to accept applications for BCRs in the lead up to GDPR implementation on May 25, 2018, and beyond, and that the UK’s exit from the European Union, currently scheduled for the end of March 2019, will not result in the cancellation of any of the approximately 40 BCR applications currently being considered by the ICO.

On November 8, 2017, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California ordered German defendants in an ongoing patent suit, BrightEdge Technologies, Inc. v. Searchmetrics GmbH, to produce a particular database, despite the defendants’ claims that such production would violate German privacy laws.

On September 29, 2017 the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) published a guide for data processors to implement the new obligations set by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The guidance addresses the extended scope of the GDPR and the new and direct obligations data processors will have when the GDPR comes into force on May 25, 2018. The guidance elaborates a three-step checklist for data processors:

Last week, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) and several privacy team members at Hunton & Williams LLP attended the 39th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners in Hong Kong (the “Conference”). The weeklong event hosted by Stephen Kai-yi Wong, Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong was attended by over 3000 privacy professionals from data protection authorities (“DPAs”), industry and research sectors. CIPL hosted two events at the conference, as well as a joint roundtable with Hunton & Williams and Citibank, throughout the week.

On September 18, 2017, the European Commission (“Commission”) and U.S. Department of Commerce (“Department”) kicked off their first annual joint review of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (“Privacy Shield”).  To aid in the review, the Department invited a few industry leaders, including Hunton & Williams’ partner Lisa J. Sotto, who chairs the firm’s Global Privacy and Cybersecurity practice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee, to speak about their experiences during the first year of the Privacy Shield.

On August 31, 2017, the National Information Security Standardization Technical Committee of China published four draft voluntary guidelines (“Draft Guidelines”) in relation to the Cybersecurity Law of China. The Draft Guidelines are open for comment from the general public until October 13, 2017.

As reported in BNA Privacy Law Watch, on August 22, 2017, the Russian privacy regulator, Roskomnadzor, announced that it had issued an order (the “Order”), effective immediately, revising notice protocols for companies that process personal data in Russia. Roskomnadzor stated that an earlier version of certain requirements for companies to notify the regulator of personal data processing was invalidated by the Russian Telecom Ministry in July.

On August 24, 2017, APEC issued a statement on the renewed talks between APEC and the EU on creating interoperability between the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (“CBPR”) and the EU data transfer mechanisms.

As reported in BNA Privacy & Security Law Report, on August 9, 2017, the Russian privacy regulator, Roskomnadzor, expanded its list of nations that provide sufficient privacy protections to allow transfers of personal data from Russia. Russian law allows data transfers to countries that are signatories to the Council of Europe’s Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (the “Convention”), and to certain other non-signatory countries deemed by Roskomnadzor to have adequate privacy protections based on relevant data protection laws, privacy regulators and penalties for privacy law violations.

On August 14, 2017, the Colombian Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (“SIC”) announced that it was adding the United States to its list of nations that provide an adequate level of protection for the transfer of personal information, according to a report from Bloomberg BNA. The SIC, along with the Superintendence of Finance, is Colombia’s data protection authority, and is responsible for enforcing Colombia’s data protection law. Under Colombian law, transfers of personal information to countries that are deemed to have laws providing an adequate level of ...

On August 7, 2017, the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport published a Statement of Intent setting out the planned reforms to be included in the forthcoming Data Protection Bill, which we previously reported is expected to be laid before the UK Parliament in early September.

On July 18, 2017, the European Union Committee of the UK’s House of Lords published its paper, Brexit: the EU data protection package (the “Paper”). The Paper urges the UK government to make good on its stated aim of maintaining unhindered and uninterrupted data flows between the UK and EU after Brexit, and examines the options available to ensure that this occurs. It warns that data flows have become so valuable to cross-border business that failure to establish an adequate framework could hamper EU-UK trade.

On July 27, 2017, Singapore submitted its notice of intent to join the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (“CBPR”) system and the APEC Privacy Recognition for Processors System (“PRP”). Singapore would be the sixth member of the CBPR system, joining Canada, Japan, Mexico, the United States and the newest member, South Korea. The announcement was made by Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communication and Information, at the Personal Data Protection Seminar 2017.

On July 26, 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) declared that the envisaged EU-Canada agreement on the transfer of Passenger Name Records (“PNR Agreement”) interferes with the fundamental right to respect for private life and the right to the protection of personal data and is therefore incompatible with EU law in its current form. This marks the first instance where the CJEU has been asked to rule on the compatibility of a draft international agreement with the European Charter of Fundamental Human Rights.

This post has been updated. 

On July 10, 2017, the Cyberspace Administration of China published a new draft of its Regulations on Protecting the Security of Key Information Infrastructure (the “Draft Regulations”), and invited comment from the general public. The Cybersecurity Law of China establishes a new category of information infrastructure, called “key [or critical] information infrastructure,” and imposes certain cybersecurity obligations on enterprises that operate such infrastructure. The Draft Regulations will remain open for comment through August 10, 2017.

The Article 29 Working Party (“Working Party”) recently issued its Opinion on data processing at work (the “Opinion”). The Opinion, which complements the Working Party’s previous Opinion 08/2001 on the processing of personal data in the employment context and Working document on the surveillance of electronic communications in the workplace, seeks to provide guidance on balancing employee privacy expectations in the workplace with employers’ legitimate interests in processing employee data. The Opinion is applicable to all types of employees and not just those under an employment contract (e.g., freelancers).

As companies in the EU and the U.S. prepare for the application of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) in May 2018, Hunton & Williams’ Global Privacy and Cybersecurity partner Aaron Simpson discusses with Forcepoint the key, significant changes from the EU Directive that companies must comply with before next year. Accountability, expanded data subject rights, breach notification, sanctions and data transfer mechanisms are a few requirements that Simpson explores in detail. He reminds companies that, in the coming year, it will be very important to ...

On June 21, 2017, in the Queen’s Speech to Parliament, the UK government confirmed its intention to press ahead with the implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) into national law. Among the announcements on both national and international politics, the Queen stated that, “A new law will ensure that the United Kingdom retains its world-class regime protecting personal data, and proposals for a new digital charter will be brought forward to ensure that the United Kingdom is the safest place to be online.” The statement confirms the priority ...

On Monday, June 12, 2017, South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and the Korea Communications Commission announced that South Korea has secured approval to participate in the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (“CBPR”) system. South Korea had submitted its intent to join the CBPR system back in January 2017. South Korea will become the fifth APEC economy to join the CBPR system. The other four participants are Canada, Japan, Mexico and the United States.

On May 27, 2017, the National Information Security Standardization Technical Committee of China published draft guidelines on cross-border transfers pursuant to the new Cybersecurity Law, entitled Information Security Technology – Guidelines for Data Cross-Border Transfer Security Assessment (the “Draft Guidelines"). The earlier draft, Measures for the Security Assessment of Outbound Transmission of Personal Information and Critical Data (the “Draft Measures”), requires network operators to conduct “security assessments” when they propose to transfer personal information and “important information” to places outside of China. These “security assessments” are essentially audits of the cybersecurity circumstances surrounding the proposed transfer that are intended to produce an assessment of the risk involved. If the assessment indicates that the risk is too high, the transfer must be terminated.

On June 1, 2017, the new Cybersecurity Law went into effect in China. This post takes stock of (1) which measures have been passed so far, (2) which ones go into effect on June 1 and (3) which ones are in progress but have yet to be promulgated.

On May 29, 2017, a high-level EU Commission official and Politico reported that the primary objective of the first annual joint review of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (“Privacy Shield”) is not to obtain more concessions from the U.S. regarding Europeans’ privacy safeguards, but rather to monitor the current U.S. administration’s work and steer U.S. privacy debates to prevent privacy safeguards from deteriorating. On March 31, 2017, the EU Commissioner for Justice, Věra Jourová, announced that the joint review will take place in September 2017.

On May 19, 2017, the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) issued a revised draft (the “Revised Draft”) of its Measures for the Security Assessment of Outbound Transmission of Personal Information and Critical Data. The original draft was issued in April 2017, and similar to the original draft, the Revised Draft does not have the impact of law; it does, however, provide an indication of how the CAC’s views on the Cybersecurity Law have evolved since the publication of the original draft. The Revised Draft was issued after the CAC received comments on the original draft from numerous parties.

On April 12, 2017, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton & Williams LLP issued a discussion paper on Certifications, Seals and Marks under the GDPR and Their Roles as Accountability Tools and Cross-Border Data Transfer Mechanisms (the “Discussion Paper”). The Discussion Paper sets forth recommendations concerning the implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation’s (“GDPR’s”) provisions on the development and use of certification mechanisms. The GDPR will become effective on May 25, 2018. The EU Commission, the Article 29 Working Party, individual EU data protection authorities (“DPAs”) and other stakeholders have begun to consider the role of GDPR certifications and how to develop and implement them. CIPL’s Discussion Paper is meant as formal input to that process.

The Cybersecurity Law of China, which was passed in November of 2016, introduced a data localization requirement requiring “operators of key information infrastructure” to retain, within China, critical data and personal information which they collect or generate in the course of operating their business in China. If an entity has a genuine need resulting from a business necessity to transmit critical data or personal information to a destination outside of China, it can do so provided it undergoes a “security assessment.”

Haim Ravia and Dotan Hammer of Pearl Cohen Zedek Latzer Baratz recently published an article outlining Israel’s new Protection of Privacy Regulations (“Regulations”), passed by the Knesset on March 21, 2017. The Regulations will impose mandatory comprehensive data security and breach notification requirements on anyone who owns, manages or maintains a database containing personal data in Israel.

The Regulations will become effective in late March 2018.

Read Pearl Cohen’s full article.

On March 2, 2017, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) published draft guidance regarding the consent requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The guidance sets forth how the ICO interprets the GDPR’s consent requirements, and its recommended approach to compliance and good practice. The ICO guidance precedes the Article 29 Working Party’s guidance on consent, which is expected in 2017.

Hunton & Williams LLP, in coordination with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, recently issued a series of recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of data privacy regulators. The report, Seeking Solutions: Attributes of Effective Data Protection Authorities, identifies seven key attributes of data protection authorities (“DPAs”) that contribute to effective data protection governance. The report also explores how the level of effectiveness varies based on differences in the structure, roles and resources of a DPA.

China’s new Cybersecurity Law will impose new restrictions on information flows from operators of key information infrastructure, and will become effective in June 2017. Hunton & Williams LLP will host a webinar on China’s New Cybersecurity Law on March 7, 2017, at 12:00 p.m. EST.

On February 22, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it had reached settlement agreements (“the Proposed Agreements”) with three U.S. companies charged with deceiving consumers about their participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Cross-Border Privacy Rules (“APEC CBPR”) system. The three companies are Sentinel Labs, Inc. (which provides endpoint protection software), SpyChatter, Inc. (which markets a private messaging app) and Vir2us, Inc. (which distributes cybersecurity software). In separate complaints, the FTC alleged that each company falsely represented in its online privacy policy that it participated in the APEC CBPR program (“the Program”), when in fact none of the companies have ever been certified as required by the Program. The Program requires participants to undergo a review by an APEC-recognized accountability agent, whose review certifies that participants meet the Program’s standards. The Program is based on nine data privacy principles: preventing harm, notice, collection limitation, use choice, integrity, security safeguards, access and correction, and accountability.

On February 1, 2017, Matt Hancock, the UK Government Minister responsible for data protection, was questioned by the House of Lords committee on the UK’s implementation plan of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) in the context of the UK’s looming exit from the EU. In responding to the questioning, Hancock revealed further details into the UK Government’s position on implementing the GDPR into UK law.

On February 2, 2017, the UK government published a white paper entitled The United Kingdom’s exit from and new partnership with the European Union (the “white paper”). The white paper strikes a conciliatory tone, making it clear that the UK intends to maintain close ties with the European Union and its 27 remaining Member States after Brexit. A large portion of the white paper is devoted to discussing the issues at the heart of the 2016 Brexit referendum, such as immigration controls, continuing trade with the EU and the protection of individuals’ rights conferred under EU law. Among the rights addressed is the free flow of personal data between the UK and the EU.

On January 25, 2017, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States.” While the Order is primarily focused on the enforcement of immigration laws in the U.S., Section 14 declares that “Agencies shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law, ensure that their privacy policies exclude persons who are not United States citizens or lawful permanent residents from the protections of the Privacy Act regarding personally identifiable information.” This provision has sparked a firestorm of controversy in the international privacy community, raising questions regarding the Order’s impact on the Privacy Shield framework, which facilitates lawful transfers of personal data from the EU to the U.S. While political ramifications are certainly plausible from an EU-U.S. perspective, absent further action from the Trump Administration, Section 14 of the Order should not impact the legal viability of the Privacy Shield framework.

On January 17, 2017, the International Trade Administration (“ITA”) announced that South Korea formally submitted its intent to join the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (“CBPR”) system. South Korea would be the fifth APEC economy to join the system, joining the United States, Mexico, Canada and Japan.

On January 10, 2017, the European Commission published a communication addressed to the European Parliament and European Council on Exchanging and Protecting Personal Data in a Globalized World (the “Communication”). The Communication aims to facilitate commercial data flows and foster law enforcement cooperation. In the Communication, the European Commission states that it will:

On January 11, 2017, the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner announced that it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce on a new Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield framework (the “Swiss Privacy Shield”), which will allow companies to legally transfer Swiss personal data to the U.S. The Swiss Privacy Shield will replace the U.S.-Swiss Safe Harbor framework, and according to the Swiss government’s announcement, will “apply the same conditions as the European Union, which set up a comparable system with the U.S. last summer,” referring ...

On November 17, 2016, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton & Williams LLP issued a white paper on Ensuring the Effectiveness and Strategic Role of the Data Protection Officer under the General Data Protection Regulation (the “White Paper”). The White Paper sets forth guidance and recommendations concerning the interpretation and implementation of the GDPR’s provisions relating to the role of the Data Protection Officer (“DPO”).

On November 20, 2016, the heads of state of the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (“APEC”) forum reaffirmed the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (“CBPR”) system in their Leaders’ Declaration at the APEC Leaders’ Meeting in Lima, Peru as follows: “We recall the APEC Leaders 2011 Honolulu Declaration and recognize the importance of implementing the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules System, a voluntary mechanism whose participants seek to increase the number of economies, companies, and accountability agents that participate in the CBPR system.” The fact that the CBPR system is mentioned in the Leaders’ Declaration reflects its priority status on the APEC agenda.

On November 18, 2016, the Argentina Data Protection Agency (“DPA”) announced that it had issued DNPDP Disposition 60 –  a new regulation on international transfers of personal data (the “Regulation”). 

On November 16, 2016, the UK Investigatory Powers Bill (the “Bill”) was approved by the UK House of Lords. Following ratification of the Bill by Royal Assent, which is expected before the end of 2016, the Bill will officially become law in the UK. The draft of the Bill has sparked controversy, as it will hand significant and wide-ranging powers to state surveillance agencies, and has been strongly criticized by some privacy and human rights advocacy groups. 

On November 9, 2016, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton & Williams LLP and AvePoint released the results of a joint global survey launched in May 2016 concerning organizational preparedness for implementing the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The GDPR replaces Directive 95/46/EC and will become applicable in May 2018.

Join us at the International Association of Privacy Professionals (“IAPP”) Data Protection Congress in Brussels, November 9-10, 2016.

On November 7, 2016, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China enacted the final Cybersecurity Law after it held its third reading of the draft Cybersecurity Law on October 31, 2016. The first draft of the Cybersecurity Law was published for comment more than a year ago, followed by the second draft in July this year. The final Cybersecurity Law will apply from June 1, 2017.

On October 31, 2016, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China held a third reading of the draft Cybersecurity Law (the “third draft”). As we previously reported, the second draft of the Cybersecurity Law was published for comment in June. The National People’s Congress has not yet published the full text of the third draft of the Cybersecurity Law.

On October 21, 2016, the Vietnam e-Commerce and Information Technology Agency and APEC co-hosted an APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (“CBPR”) system capacity-building workshop in Da Nang, Vietnam, on the heels of last week’s bilateral affirmation of commitment between the U.S. and Japan to implement and expand the CBPR system. The workshop further signals the continuing growth of the CBPR system.

Earlier this month, at a meeting of the Article 31 Committee, the European Commission (“Commission”) unveiled two draft Commission Implementing Decisions that propose amendments to the existing adequacy decisions and decisions on EU Model Clauses.

On October 19, 2016, the International Trade Administration issued a press release reaffirming the commitment of both the U.S. Department of Commerce and Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission (the “PPC”) to continue implementation of the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (“CBPR”) system in order to foster the protection of personal information transferred across borders. According to the press release, the PPC’s “recent decision to recognize the system as a mechanism for international data transfers in the implementing guidelines for Japan’s amended privacy law marks an important milestone for the development of the APEC CBPR system in Japan.” Going forward, both agencies also have committed to cooperate in raising awareness and encouraging other APEC member economies to implement the CBPR system.

On October 7, 2016, the Article 29 Working Party (the “Working Party”) published a summary of the discussions that took place at its “Fablab” workshop entitled GDPR/from concepts to operational toolbox, DIY, which took place on July 26, 2016, in Brussels.

In September, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) held its second GDPR Workshop in Paris as part of its two-year GDPR Implementation Project. The purpose of the project is to provide a forum for stakeholders to promote EU-wide consistency in implementing the GDPR, encourage forward-thinking and future-proof interpretations of key GDPR provisions, develop and share relevant best practices, and foster a culture of trust and collaboration between regulators and industry.  

On September 23, 2016, the French Data Protection Authority ("CNIL") published the results of the Internet sweep on connected devices. The sweep was conducted in May 2016 to assess the quality of the information provided to users of connected devices, the level of security of the data flows and the degree of user empowerment (e.g., user’s consent and ability to exercise data protection rights).

Recently, the National Privacy Commission (the “Commission”) of the Philippines published the final text of its Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 10173, known as the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (the “IRR”). The IRR has a promulgation date of August 24, 2016, and went into effect 15 days after the publication in the official Gazette.

On July 20, 2016, the French Data Protection Authority (“CNIL”) announced that it issued a formal notice to Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”) about Windows 10, ordering Microsoft to comply with the French Data Protection Act within three months.

Background

Following the launch of Microsoft’s new operation system, Windows 10, in July 2015, the CNIL was alerted by the media and political parties that Microsoft could collect excessive personal data via Windows 10. A group composed of several EU data protection authorities was created within the Article 29 Working Party to examine the issue and conduct investigations in their relevant EU Member States. The CNIL initiated its investigation and carried out seven online inspections in April and June 2016. The CNIL also questioned Microsoft on certain points of its privacy statement.

On July 26, 2016, Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, the Chairwoman of the Article 29 Working Party of data protection regulators, announced that EU data protection regulators will not challenge the adequacy of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (“Privacy Shield”) for at least one year (i.e., until after summer 2017). The European Commission is scheduled to conduct a mandatory review of the adequacy of the Privacy Shield by May 2017.

On July 12, 2016, after months of negotiations and criticism, the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (“Privacy Shield”) was officially adopted by the European Commission and the Department of Commerce. Similar to the Safe Harbor, companies must certify their compliance with the seven principles comprising the Privacy Shield to use the Shield as a valid data transfer mechanism. Hunton & Williams partner Lisa J. Sotto and associate Chris D. Hydak recently published an article in Law360 entitled “The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield: A How-To Guide.” In the article, Lisa and Chris detail the ...

On July 14, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission issued warning letters to 28 companies relating to apparent false claims of participation in the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (“CBPR”).

The warning letters state that the companies’ websites represent APEC CBPR certification even though the companies do not appear to have undertaken the necessary steps to claim certification, such as a review and approval process by an APEC-recognized Accountability Agent.

On July 12, 2016, the EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Věra Jourová, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced the formal adoption of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (the “Privacy Shield”) framework, composed of an Adequacy Decision and accompanying Annexes.

On July 5, 2016, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China (the “Standing Committee”) published the full second draft of the Cybersecurity Law (the “second draft”). The publication of the second draft comes after the Standing Committee’s second reading of the draft on June 27, 2016. The public may comment on the second draft of the Cybersecurity Law until August 4, 2016.

On June 28, 2016, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) released its Annual Report for 2015 -2016 (the “Report”).

According to the Report, the ICO has dealt with an increase in the number of data protection concerns, handling 16,388 complaints in total. Particularly noteworthy is the £130,000 fine imposed on Pharmacy 2U for breach of the fair processing requirements under the UK Data Protection Act 1998. Pharmacy 2U sold details of over 20,000 customers to a list marketing company without customers' knowledge or consent.

On June 30, 2016, a joint committee composed of representatives from both chambers of the French Parliament (“Joint Committee”) reached a common position on the French ‘Digital Republic’ Bill that rejects the data localization amendment previously approved by the French Senate, but significantly amends other aspects of the French Data Protection Act.

On June 27, 2016, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People's Republic of China held a second reading of the draft Cybersecurity Law (the “second draft”). The law is aimed at strengthening the protection and security of key information infrastructure and important data in China. As we previously reported, the first draft of the Cybersecurity Law was published for comment almost a year ago, but the National People’s Congress has not published the full second draft of the Cybersecurity Law to date.

On June 13, 2016, the U.S. government expressed its wish to join the legal proceedings brought by Max Schrems concerning the validity of international data transfers under EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

Along with the U.S. government, the Irish Business and Employers Confederation and the Business Software Alliance, an industry trade group, also informed Ireland’s High Court of their desire to be added to the case as amici curiae, or "friends of the court."

On May 25, 2016, Max Schrems stated that the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (the “DPC”) is expected to bring legal proceedings before the Irish courts concerning international data transfers under EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

In an unofficial statement to the Irish press, a representative of the DPC confirmed the DPC’s intention to seek declaratory relief in the Irish High Court and to recommend that the case be referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) for a preliminary ruling.

Read our previous entry on the Schrems ruling of the CJEU.

Hunton ...

On May 23, 2016, half of the EU Member States sent a letter to the European Commission and the Netherlands (which holds the rotating presidency), seeking the removal of barriers to the free flow of data both within and outside the EU to benefit the EU from new data-driven technologies, according to Reuters and EurActive.com.

On May 4, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission issued a press release announcing its recent settlement with the hand-held vaporizers manufacturer, Very Incognito Technologies, Inc. (“Vipvape”). The FTC had charged Vipvape with falsely claiming that it was a certified company under the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (“APEC”) Cross-Border Privacy Rules (“CBPR”) framework. The settlement prohibits Vipvape from misleading consumers about its participation in any privacy and security certification program, including the APEC CBPR framework. This is the first CBPR-related case taken up by the FTC.

On April 12, 2016, the French Data Protection Authority (“CNIL”) announced that it will participate in a coordinated online audit to analyze the impact of everyday connected devices on privacy. The audit will be coordinated by the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (“GPEN”), a global network of approximately 50 data protection authorities (“DPAs”) from around the world.