Entries tagged with: EU Law

92 result(s) displayed.

UN Urges Countries to Protect Human Rights During Coronavirus Crisis

United Nations human rights experts are urging government leaders not to abuse emergency powers in response to the coronavirus outbreak. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet stated: "Being open and transparent is key to empowering and encouraging people...

EU Leaders to Consider Ban on Face Surveillance

POLITICO reports that EU President von der Leyen and Commissioner Vestager are considering a ban on the use of facial recognition in public spaces, "for up to five years until safeguards to mitigate the technology's risks are in place." Last...

Google Wins Global Delisting Case at European High Court, But Paragraph 72

In Google v. CNIL, the Court of Justice for the European Union ruled Google is not required to apply Europeans' requests to de-reference search results globally. The case follows an earlier ruling in Google v. Spain that Europeans have a...

Top European Court to Review National Data Retention Laws

Today, the Court of Justice for the European Union will hear challenges to the data retention laws of the UK, Belgium, and France. The Court previously invalidated European and national data retention laws that required companies to retain communications data...

Top European Court Rules Companies Using Facebook "Like" Button Are Responsible for User Privacy

The Court of Justice for the European Union has ruled websites embedding the Facebook "like" button are responsible for user privacy. Facebook's tracking technique collects the personal data of visitors to a third-party website and transfers it to Facebook. In...

EPIC Comments on Third Annual Privacy Shield Review

EPIC provided comments to the European Commission to inform the third annual review of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, a framework that permits the transfer of Europeans' personal data to the U.S. EPIC detailed the latest developments in the U.S., including...

EPIC to Discuss US Surveillance before Top European Court

This week EPIC Senior Counsel Alan Butler will appear before the Court of Justice for the European Union in the case Data Protection Commissioner v. Facebook. The case, known as "Schrems 2.0." follows the European Court's landmark decision in Schrems...

Austrian Supreme Court: GDPR Lawsuits Can Be Filed Throughout EU

The Austrian Supreme Court has ruled that complaints concerning the EU General Data Protection Regulation can be brought anywhere in the EU. The decision overturned a ruling by a lower Austrian court which held that a privacy lawsuit against Facebook...

Facebook Loses Appeal to Halt European High Court Review of EU-U.S. Data Transfer

The Irish Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by Facebook to stop the highest court in Europe from reviewing the transfers of personal data from the EU to the US. Facebook appealed a referral to the Court of Justice for...

Human Rights Court Accepts EPIC Intervention in Government Hacking Case

The European Court of Human Rights has accepted EPIC's request to intervene in a case concerning the legal standards for government remote hacking. Privacy International v. United Kingdom asks whether remote hacking or the use of malware by UK intelligence...

Grand Chamber of Human Rights Court to Review UK Surveillance

The European Court of Human Rights Grand Chamber has agreed to review Big Brother Watch v. UK, a case concerning UK surveillance power revealed by Edward Snowden. Last year the Court ruled that the communications surveillance regime narrowly violated human...

EPIC Seeks to Intervene in Human Rights Case on Government Hacking

EPIC is requesting to intervene in a case before the European Court of Human Rights testing the human rights standards for government hacking of computers and other devices. Brought by international NGO Privacy International, Privacy International v. United Kingdom asks...

European Court Adviser Says Right to be Forgotten Need Not Be Applied Worldwide

The opinion of a key adviser to the Europe's top court finds that that the "right to be forgotten" need not be applied worldwide. Google v. Commission nationale de l'informatique et des liberté follows a ruling in Google v. Spain...

European Court of Human Rights Rules UK Surveillance Violated Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the UK's surveillance regime, revealed by Edward Snowden, violates human rights set out in the European Convention. In consolidated cases Big Brother Watch v. UK, Bureau of Investigative Journalism v. UK,...

Top European Court Hears Key "Right to Be Forgotten" Case

Today the Court of Justice for the European Union heard arguments in Google v. Commission nationale de l'informatique et des liberté concerning the "Right to Be Forgotten." Google v. CNIL follows a ruling in Google v. Spain that Europeans have...

European Court of Justice Grants Standing to Privacy Advocate But Bars Class Action under Austrian Law

The Court of Justice of the European Union, following an advisory opinion, has determined that Max Schrem's class action in Austria cannot proceed against Facebook, but individual privacy claims can. The Court granted Schrems standing, recognizing that "the activities of...

French Privacy Agency to Block WhatsApp Facebook Data Transfers

France's data protection authority CNIL has given WhatsApp one month to stop sending user data to Facebook. EPIC and the Center for Digital Democracy urged the FTC in 2014 to mandate privacy safeguards for Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp, and warned...

European Privacy Experts Call for New Review of EU-US Data Arrangement

The Article 29 Working Party, a group of European privacy experts, is calling for a reexamination of the Privacy Shield, a framework permitting the flow of European consumers' personal data to the United States. In a new report, the Working...

European Court Holds Camera Surveillance of University Lecture Halls Violates Privacy

In the case of Antović and Mirković v. Montenegro, the European Court of Human Rights held that camera surveillance in lecture halls at the University of Montenegro's School of Mathematics violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights...

European Court Adviser Says Facebook Privacy Class Action Barred

The opinion of a key adviser to the European Court of Justice holds that a class action cannot proceed against Facebook, but would permit individual privacy claims to move forward. The class action of 25,000 consumers brought by Austrian privacy...

Communications Privacy Directive Moves Forward in European Parliament

European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs - or LIBE Committee - has approved an update to EU communications privacy law in a key step toward finalizing the regulation. The proposed e-Privacy Regulation would extend consumer safeguards...

European Court of Human Rights Rules Employee Monitoring Violates Privacy Rights

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that a company's dismissal of an employee based on monitored chat logs violates the fundamental right to privacy. In Barbulescu v. Romania, the Court found that the right to private life and...

European Privacy Officials Push for Answers on Status of U.S. Privacy

The Article 29 Working Party, an expert group of European privacy officials, is pressing the European Commission to closely evaluate the EU-US Privacy Shield, a framework permitting the flow of European consumers' personal data to the United States. In a...

European Data Protection Supervisor Backs "E-Privacy" Directive Updates

European Data Protection Supervisor Giovanni Buttarelli, one of Europe's top privacy officials, published an opinion backing a key update to EU privacy law. The updated e-Privacy Regulation would extend consumer safeguards to users of all online communications services, cover content...

Europe to Update Consumer Privacy Rules

The European Commission has released its proposal to update EU law on privacy and security safeguards for electronic communications. The revamped e-Privacy Regulation would extend important new safeguards to users of all online communications services, including email, instant messaging, and...

European Communications Privacy Law Strengthens Rights for Internet Users

A draft of the update to the European "e-Privacy Directive" provides important new safeguards for users of Internet-based services. The new regulation will apply to all online communications services, including email, instant messaging, and social media. The updated privacy law...

European Parliament Explores Algorithmic Transparency

A hearing today in the European Parliament brought together technologists, ethicists, and policymakers to examine "Algorithmic Accountability and Transparency in the Digital Economy." Recently German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke against secret algorithms, warning that that there must be more transparency...

European Privacy Officials Pursue Investigation of WhatsApp & Yahoo

The Article 29 Working Party, an expert group of European privacy officials, is pursuing investigations of WhatsApp and Yahoo. In a letter to Facebook, the Working Party stated that the decision to transfer confidential user data from WhatsApp to Facebook...

Privacy Advocates Challenge EU-US Data Transfer Agreement

An Irish privacy organization is challenging the EU-US framework for transferring personal data, the "Privacy Shield," in the European high court. This challenge follows a decision last year invalidating the previous framework, "Safe Harbor." In that case, the Court of...

European High Court Rules that Dynamic IP Addresses are Personal Data

The Court of Justice for the European Union has ruled that dynamic IP addresses are personal data subject to protection under data protection law. The Court said that user's identity can still be revealed through use of legal process, even...

Irish Court Approves EPIC as Amicus in Schrems Case

The Irish High Court has accepted EPIC's application to participate in a case about data protection rights and Facebook's contractual clauses. The case follows Max Schrems' complaint to the Irish Data Protection Commissioner after the European Court of Justice's decision...

Privacy Shield Revisions Fail to Satisfy Legal Requirements

A revised draft of the Privacy Shield included some modifications on the scope of US bulk data collection, the role of the "ombudsperson," and data erasure but fails to resolve flaws previously identified by European data protection authorities and the...

Top EU Legal Advisor Says IP Addresses are PII

The Advocate General, top advisor to the European Court of Justice, has issued an opinion today about Internet anonymity. He found that dynamic IP addresses are personal data subject to data protection law. The opinion concerns the case of German...

EU Officials Call for Changes in Privacy Agreement

European privacy officials announced today that there must be changes in the draft proposal for EU-US data transfers. The Article 29 Working Party has "strong concerns" that the current text fails to provide adequate protection against commercial misuse and bulk...

EPIC Intervenes in Privacy Case before European Court of Human Rights

Today EPIC filed a brief in a case before the European Court of Human Rights. The case involves a challenge brought by 10 human rights organizations arguing that surveillance by British and U.S. intelligence organizations violated their fundamental rights. In...

European Commission Wrongly Denies EPIC's Request For "Privacy Shield"

The European Commission has wrongly denied EPIC's Freedom of Information request for the text of the "Privacy Shield." The Commission said the adequacy decision about Safe Harbor is "in preparation" and "negotiations with the U.S. are still ongoing." The Commission...

Google Ordered to Comply with Ruling of European High Court

The French Data Protection Authority, the "CNIL," has ordered Google to comply with the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning the "Right to be Forgotten." The CNIL rejected Google's proposal to remove only a few...

New Report Highlights Consumer Goals for EU Privacy Law

BEUC, The European Consumer Organization, has published "My Personal Data", outlining key requirements for negotiations in Europe on the General Data Protection Regulations. BEUC underscored "the urgent need to put consumers back in control over the way their personal data...

EU and US Reach Agreement on Data Protection for Investigations

US officials have concluded an agreement with their European counterparts on data protection for transatlantic criminal investigations. The EU Justice Commissioner stated "Once in force, this agreement will guarantee a high level of protection of all personal data when transferred...

European Court of Justice Hears Case Challenging "Safe Harbor" Agreement and NSA Spying

The Court of Justice for the European Union heard arguments this week in Maximilian Schrems v. Data Protection Commissioner, a case filed in Ireland following the revelations of the NSA PRISM program. At issue is whether the disclosure of EU...

EU Launches Investigation Into Facebook Acquisition of WhatsApp

Antitrust officials in the European Union have begun an investigation into Facebook's acquisition of the messaging service WhatsApp. WhatsApp gained popularity based on its pro-privacy approach to user data. Following the announcement of Facebook's plan to acquire the company, EPIC...

European High Court Strikes Down Data Retention Law

In a far-reaching and dramatic opinion, the European Court of Justice has ruled that the mass storage of telecommunications data violates the fundamental right to privacy and is illegal. The Data Retention Directive required telephone and Internet companies to keep...

European Parliament: Suspend Safe Harbor, Data Transfers to United States

The European Parliament has voted to halt the Safe Harbor program, which allowed US companies to process data on EU citizens outside of European legal protections. The resolution also recommends that Europe exclude EU-US data transfers from trade negotiations and...

With Overwhelming Support, European Parliament Backs New Data Protection Law

In a near-unanimous vote, the European Parliament has voted in favor of a comprehensive data protection regulation. The new law will make several changes to European data privacy law, give citizens better access to their data, restrict the ways it...

EPIC Gives 2014 International Award to European Parliament Member Jan Albrecht

EPIC has given the 2014 International Champion of Freedom Award to European Parliament Member Jan Philipp Albrecht for "modernizing and defending the law of data protection." As a rapporteur for the Committee on Civl Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, Albrecht...

EPIC, Amnesty International Urge President Obama to Support Privacy in Annual State of the Union

EPIC President Marc Rotenberg, Amnesty International Secretary General Salil Shetty, and members of the EPIC Advisory Board have asked President Obama to support privacy and the international privacy convention in the annual State of the Union speech next week. The...

Europe May Suspend Data Transfer Agreement with US

The European Commission released a report questioning the effectiveness of the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor framework. The Safe Harbor arrangement allows data to be transferred from EU Member States to companies in the U.S. that have promised to adhere to a...

European Parliament Committee Approves Comprehensive Privacy Law

The civil liberties committee of the European Parliament has voted to approve the EU Data Protection Regulation. Before voting, members of the committee inserted stronger safeguards for data transfers to non-EU countries, an explicit consent requirement, a right to erasure,...

EPIC's Rotenberg Addresses European Parliament

EPIC President Marc Rotenberg addressed the European Parliament on the issue of The Electronic Mass Surveillance of EU Citizens. The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs has convened a series of hearings to examine reports of the monitoring...

NGOs, Experts, Officials Gather in Warsaw for Public Voice Conference

NGO leaders, privacy experts, and government officials from around the world gathered in Warsaw, Poland for the event "Our Data, Our Lives." The Public Voice conference was held in conjunction with the 35th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy...