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On December 15, 2020, the European Commission (EC) unveiled a set of proposals to regulate digital platforms. The draft laws include antitrust-related requirements, addressed by the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and more general regulatory requirements, addressed in the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DMA/DSA package will apply to all digital services, including social media, online marketplaces, and other online platforms, meaning tech companies active in Europe will have a new set of rules to follow.
Continue Reading European Commission Proposes New Rules for Digital Platforms

On October 1, 2020, the French data protection authority (the CNIL) issued the final version of its guidelines on the use of cookies and other trackers (the Guidelines), replacing a first draft published on July 4, 2019. While the main principles remain unchanged, this version provides further practical guidance for website and mobile application publishers using cookies and trackers. The CNIL indicated that the deadline for compliance with the new rules should not exceed six months, which means that companies have until March 2021 to ensure compliance.
Continue Reading CNIL Issues Updated Cookie Guidance

On February 7, 2020, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published draft guidelines on the processing of personal data in the context of connected vehicles and mobility related applications. If adopted in their current form, the draft guidelines will have far-reaching consequences for connected vehicles and mobility applications that operate in Europe. They contain detailed interpretations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and related laws. Notably, the draft guidelines apply the EU cookie rules to connected vehicles, requiring granular consent to collect both personal and non-personal data from connected vehicles.
Continue Reading EU Privacy Regulators Issue Draft Guidelines on Connected Vehicles and Mobility Applications

On January 21, 2020, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published its final version of its Age Appropriate Design Code of Practice (the code). The code will be submitted to Parliament in the coming days, and, assuming there is no objection, will become effective approximately two months later.

This blog post follows our previous update on the ICO’s draft Age Appropriate Design Code. The current code was produced following extensive industry and consumer engagement. It adopts the maximum transition period of 12 months to allow companies to make meaningful and thoughtful changes to how they operate. 
Continue Reading Update: UK’s Age Appropriate Design Code

The year 2020 promises to be an interesting one for privacy and data protection in Europe. In this post, we highlight four of the most important developments to watch this year: 1) we expect that European Union (EU) regulators will ramp up GDPR enforcement across the board, and with a particular focus on AdTech, cookies, and children’s data; 2) legislators and regulators are looking to take concrete measures on AI; 3) the Standard Contractual Clauses will likely have to undergo major reform to escape the same fate as the now-defunct Safe Harbor Framework; and 4) we expect that the proposed ePrivacy Regulation will move forward or be withdrawn altogether.
Continue Reading European Privacy Landscape: What to Expect in 2020

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