Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On May 1, 2014, the White House released a report examining how Big Data is affecting government, society and commerce. In addition to questioning longstanding tenets of privacy legislation, such as notice and consent, the report recommends (1) passing national data breach legislation, (2) revising the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (“ECPA”), and (3) advancing the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

On April 24, 2014, the Belgian Data Protection Authority (the “Privacy Commission”) published a Draft Recommendation regarding cookie usage, inviting all stakeholders to provide their input on the text. The Draft Recommendation clarifies the Belgian legal framework for the use of cookies and similar technologies, examining in detail the different purposes for which cookies and similar technologies may be used (e.g., authentication, storage of preferences) and explaining the steps to be taken to ensure compliance for each type of cookie use.

On April 30, 2014, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (“APEC”) released the Findings Report of the Joint Oversight Panel of the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (“CPBR”) system, confirming that Japan has met the conditions for participation in the CBPRs. Accordingly, Japan has now joined the U.S. and Mexico as a participant in the APEC CBPRs. Canada recently expressed its intent to join the system soon, and other APEC economies are in the process determining how and when they may join.

On April 29, 2014, the French Data Protection Authority (“CNIL”) disclosed its annual inspections program, providing an overview of its inspections in 2013 and a list of the inspections it plans to conduct in 2014. Under French data protection law, the CNIL is authorized to collect any useful information in connection with its investigations and access data controllers’ electronic data and data processing programs. Since March 2014, the CNIL also is permitted to collect such information online through remote investigations.

On April 25, 2014, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Microsoft must release user data to U.S. law enforcement when issued a search warrant, even if the data is stored outside of the U.S.

On April 23, 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced settlements with two health care companies stemming from allegations of inadequate information security practices in the wake of investigations involving stolen laptop computers. Concentra Health Services (“Concentra”) and QCA Health Plan Inc. (“QCA”) will collectively pay nearly $2 million to settle the claims.

On April 20, 2014, Hunton & Williams partner Paul M. Tiao was featured on Platts Energy Week discussing the importance of the homeland security partnership between electric utility companies and the U.S. government. In the feature, “U.S. Utilities Wary of Sharing Grid Risks,” Tiao talked about the recent leak to The Wall Street Journal of a sensitive internal memo at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that revealed potential vulnerabilities in the electricity grid. Tiao said that many utility companies want to work with federal agencies to protect homeland security ...

On April 16, 2014, the Article 29 Working Party (the “Working Party”) sent a letter (the “Letter”) to Lilian Mitrou, Chair of the Working Group on Information Exchange and Data Protection (the “DAPIX”) of the Council of the European Union, to support a compromise position on the one-stop-shop mechanism within the proposed EU General Data Protection Regulation (the “Proposed Regulation”).

On April 23, 2014, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff enacted the Marco Civil da Internet (“Marco Civil”), Brazil’s first set of Internet regulations. The Marco Civil was approved by the Brazilian Senate on April 22, 2014. President Rousseff signed the law at the NETMundial Internet Governance conference in São Paulo, a global multistakeholder event on the future of Internet governance.

On April 9, 2014, the Article 29 Working Party (the “Working Party”) issued an Opinion on using the “legitimate interests” ground listed in Article 7 of the EU Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC as the basis for lawful processing of personal data. Citing “legitimate interests” as a ground for data processing requires a balancing test, and it may be relied on only if (1) the data processing is necessary for the legitimate interests of the controller (or third parties), and (2) such interests are not overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject. With the Opinion, the Working Party aims to ensure a common understanding of this concept.