Data Points: Privacy & Data Security Blog

On August 1, 2016, the U.S. Department of Commerce began accepting self-certification applications for the new EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework.  In the month that has followed over 100 companies (including Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce, among others) have self-certified that they are in compliance with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield.

Now that that Privacy Shield is in effect and gaining acceptance, it is a good time for companies to examine whether the Privacy Shield makes sense for them.  To answer that question, it is important to understand some basic facts about the Privacy ...

The Federal Trade Commission, continuing its quest to be the enforcer of consumer privacy rights, has come down hard this month on ASUSTeK and LabMD for their failure to have adequate data security standards. Because the FTC has taken the position that its complaints and orders set the standard for adequate data security (DataPoints: Reading the Section 5(a) Tea Leaves: What the end of 2015 may suggest about the FTC priorities in 2016), companies subject to FTC jurisdiction should take heed.

LabMD cannot seem to catch a break. Although an ALJ dismissed the FTC’s claim against LabMD ...

Robert Sumner IV and Brandon Gaskins

On April 14, 2016, the European Parliament passed the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its companion, Data Protection Directive for Police and Criminal Justice Authorities.  The GDPR is a comprehensive regulation that includes new and enhanced privacy rights for European Union (EU) citizens, such as “the right to be forgotten” and the right to object to data processing, including data profiling.  The GDPR also establishes new and heightened obligations for companies doing business in the EU related to the collection, use, and ...

EU Member States (the Article 31 Committee)  approved today the EU-US Privacy Shield.  The next step is formal adoption.  The full press release can be found here.

The approval of the Privacy Shield is good news for companies who transfer personal data from the EU to the US. Although legal challenges to the Privacy Shield are likely, the Privacy Shield was designed to address the shortcomings cited by the European Court of Justice in the now invalidated Safe Harbor self-certification scheme and should have a better chance of standing up to those legal challenges.

Related DataPoints Posts:

Tandy Mathis and Karin McGinnis

Good information governance requires not only protecting the security of sensitive and proprietary information; it often requires pursuing legal action against those who threaten the secrecy and value of a company’s trade secrets.  The Defense of Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) both provides another tool for companies to pursue misappropriators of trade secrets and makes it more difficult for companies to quickly seize misappropriated trade secrets through court action.  Given the challenges of the DTSA, companies should bolster their efforts ...

On June 13, 2016, the United States government asked the Irish High Court to be joined as amicus curiae (friend of the court) in the case brought by the Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems against Facebook attacking the use of model contract clauses to transfer EU citizens’ data from the EU to the U.S. as violating fundamental privacy rights. This is an unusual request for the U.S. government to seek to intervene in private ligation, particularly in foreign courts. However, the stakes are high should Facebook lose, and the U.S. government’s surveillance practices are at the ...

THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF DATA SECURITY PROGRAMS: HOW TO PUT ONE TOGETHER FOR YOUR COMPANY (JUNE 2016): Privacy and data security issues impact every industry and affect almost all aspects of a company’s operations. Sales, human resources, data maintenance and storage, IT, legal and compliance, even litigation, all require careful attention to protecting the privacy of personal information as well as preserving the integrity of company, customer or third party data. Moore & Van Allen developed the Privacy & Data Security Seminar Series 2016 to help our clients and friends of the ...

• What should I expect after a ...

Cybersecurity of the electric power grid and energy sector as a whole has been the subject of heightened Congressional attention given the integral role the industry plays in our economy. According to a 2015 U.S. Senate committee report, nearly one-third of reported cyber-attacks involve the energy sector. Not surprisingly, the 114th Congress (2015-2016) has introduced several pieces of legislation targeted towards enhancing the security of the nation’s energy infrastructure. Among the bills introduced were S. 1068 – An act to amend the Federal Power Act to protect the ...