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Given Broad Definitions, the Law Could Apply to Businesses That Do Not Consider Themselves Data Brokers

While amending the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) last term, the California legislature also passed a CCPA-related privacy bill that applies to “data brokers.” Assembly Bill 1202 (AB 1202) requires businesses that qualify as data brokers to register, pay a fee, and provide certain information to the California attorney general. Because AB 1202 relies on the CCPA’s broad definitions of “sell” and “personal information,” many businesses that might not otherwise consider themselves to be data brokers may fall within the data broker definition.
Continue Reading Data Brokers Must Register with California Attorney General by January 31

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has confirmed that by November 23, 2019, it will present its Age Appropriate Design Code of Practice to the UK Parliament for approval. Unless Parliament objects, this mandatory code will be issued and in force (albeit with a transition period) as early as January 2020.

The final code has been hotly anticipated since the call for input on the issue of age appropriate design in June 2018. Since then, the ICO has worked with a large number of stakeholders to understand the key challenges when designing child-accessible services. In that context, it published its draft iteration of the code for consultation earlier this year (the Draft Code). This Draft Code sets out 16 standards (the Standards) which must be followed when designing online services accessible to children under 18. In an August update, the ICO recognized that the code will cause shifts in the design processes for online services which make use of children’s data, such as the tech, e-gaming and interactive entertainment industries. In light of this the ICO, as well as providing clearer guidelines in the code itself, will provide additional guidance for designers and engineers. The ICO adds, however, that non-compliance is not an option, stressing that “[t]here is no room for companies who decide children’s privacy is a problem that’s simply too hard to solve.”
Continue Reading UK’s Age Appropriate Design Code Pending

On August 12, 2019, the Greek Ministry of Justice published the long-awaited, draft legislation for implementing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Greece and Slovenia are the only two European Union (EU) countries that have not yet implemented the GDPR.

As an EU regulation, the GDPR has legally taken effect in every EU country, including Greece. In fact, the Greek Supervisory Authority recently imposed a 150,000EUR fine on a company for GDPR violations. However, the GDPR allows EU countries to adopt certain derogations, specifications, and exceptions through their implementing legislation. The draft, inter alia, does this through the following provisions:

  1. Age of Consent

The draft requires that a minor over 15 years old (and up to 18 years old) must consent to the processing of his/her personal data for the processing to be lawful. When a minor is under 15 years old, the minor’s legal guardian must consent.Continue Reading Greece Publishes Draft Legislation for Implementing GDPR

On June 28, 2019, the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) released its 2019-2020 action plan on ad targeting (action plan);1 among other things, the CNIL announced that it will issue new cookie guidance later this month and that, once the guidance is published, companies will have a 12-month grace period to come into compliance.

Background

When the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became effective on May 25, 2018, it imposed stricter conditions for obtaining valid consent to process personal data. In short, consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous. Individuals must also be able to withdraw their consent at any time. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) issued guidelines to further clarify the “do’s and don’ts” for obtaining valid consent (consent guidelines), including that scrolling down or swiping through a website is not enough to obtain valid consent. Rather, consent must be obtained via a clear and affirmative action, such as clicking on an “I agree” button.Continue Reading The CNIL Announces Its 2019-2020 Action Plan on Ad Targeting

On June 20, 2019, the UK’s Data Protection Authority (ICO) published a report on adtech and real-time bidding. The report highlights the main problems faced by the industry when applying the General Data Protection Regulation’s (GDPR’s) stringent requirements, and calls for further engagement on these issues by the different adtech players in the space.

Background

When the GDPR became effective on May 25, 2018, it imposed new and strict obligations on companies processing personal data. In the UK, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), which implements the EU e-Privacy Directive and will soon be replaced by the e-Privacy Regulation, complements the GDPR requirements. Both the GDPR and PECR govern how data is collected and further processed in the online advertising industry, including requiring notice and a legal basis for processing. The PECR specifically applies to the use of cookies and similar technologies and sets out the rules for consent to use these technologies.Continue Reading The ICO Publishes Its Stance on Adtech and Real-Time Bidding

On May 22, 2019, a federal district court largely denied a facial challenge by Disney, Viacom, and several online advertising networks to claims alleging these defendants violated the privacy rights of children by collecting data through online gaming apps.

In McDonald v. Kiloo APS,[1] the defendants consisted of two groups: the developers who created the gaming apps and made them available for download, and the mobile advertising and app monetization companies who provided software code inserted into the gaming apps to collect user data for advertising purposes. The defendants allegedly collected a variety of data from the children’s devices without appropriate consent, including the IP address; the specific device name; IDs for Apple and Android devices; the device’s International Mobile Equipment Identity; the timestamp at which an advertising event was recorded; and device fingerprint data (the user’s language, time zone, country, and mobile network).Continue Reading Federal Court Allows Children’s Online Privacy Claims Against Disney, Viacom, and Online Ad Networks That Collected Data from Gaming Apps to Go Forward