Hot on the heels of the European Commission’s official review of the functioning of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, the Article 29 Working Party of EU data protection regulators has issued its own report on the matter. The summary of findings by the Working Party, which draws from both written submissions and oral contributions, begins by commending U.S. authorities for their efforts in establishing a procedural framework to support the operation of Privacy Shield but quickly shifts to the Working Party’s concerns. Should the concerns not be addressed by the time of the second joint review, the Working Party notes that its members will “take appropriate action,” including bringing a Privacy Shield adequacy decision to national courts for reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling.
Tag Archives: Department of Commerce
NTIA Highlights Promise and Policy Challenges of IoT, Seeks Additional Comments
On January 12, 2017, prior to the new administration taking power, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration within the Department of Commerce released a Green Paper on “Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things,” which assesses the technological and policy landscape of the Internet of Things. The Green Paper is expansive in scope, reflecting the broad range of issues raised in comments submitted by stakeholders in the private sector, academia, government, and civil society following NTIA’s April 2016 request for public comment. The Green Paper identifies key issues, and provides recommendations and assessments on the potential benefits and risks that IoT portends. The NTIA identifies cybersecurity, privacy and cross-border data flows as the most significant policy issues. It also proposes four principles for future policy engagement in which the Department would play a central role in creating conditions that would foster IoT growth. The agency also requested additional comments on the issues raised by the Green Paper.
Recording and Deck from Webinar: Privacy Shield: What You Need to Know
Thank you to everyone who participated in last week’s webinar “Privacy Shield: What You Need to Know,” in which we explored how companies demonstrate compliance with the Privacy Shield principles, what it takes to move from Safe Harbor to Privacy Shield, and more. A copy of the slide deck and recorded webinar are now available on our blog.
Untying the Global Dataflows Mess
One of Harry Houdini’s most difficult tricks consisted of escaping from a nail-fastened and rope-bound wooden crate with manacles on his hands and feet, while submerged in New York’s East River. That feat is starting to look straightforward when compared to the prospect of lawfully exporting personal data out of the European Union. The restrictions on transfers of data to jurisdictions that do not provide an adequate level of protection have been in place for more than 20 years. And while these restrictions have not prevented the development of the digital economy, judging by this issue’s current direction of travel, we could be facing a situation from which not even the great Houdini could escape.
NTIA Commences Internet of Things Proceeding
On April 5, 2016, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration initiated an inquiry to review the potential benefits and challenges presented by the Internet of Things. In its Notice and request for public comment (RFC), NTIA is seeking input on the current IoT technological and policy landscape with a goal of developing recommendations—in the form of a Green Paper—as to whether and how the federal government should play a role in fostering the advancement of IoT technologies.
Inside the New EU-U.S. Data Framework: A Practical Breakdown of the Privacy Shield
The February 29, 2016 announcement of the new EU-U.S. data transfer framework—the Privacy Shield—was accompanied by over 130 pages of documentation and significantly more operational details than its predecessor, Safe Harbor. We have reviewed the Privacy Shield materials and published a comprehensive breakdown of the changes from Safe Harbor to Privacy Shield and the practical impact on business: Inside the New and Improved EU-U.S. Data Transfer Framework.
First Look: EU–U.S. Privacy Shield
On February 29, 2016 and after more than two years of negotiations with the U.S. Department of Commerce, the European Commission released its draft Decision on the adequacy of the new EU–U.S. Privacy Shield program, accompanied by new information on how the Program will work. The Privacy Shield documentation is significantly more detailed than that associated with its predecessor, the EU-U.S. Safe Harbor, as it describes more specifically the measures that organizations wishing to use the Privacy Shield must implement. Importantly, the Privacy Shield provides for additional transparency and processes associated with U.S. government access to the personal data of EU individuals.
Recording and Deck from Webinar: Safe Harbor Invalidated – What Next?
Thank you to everyone who participated in today’s webinar “Safe Harbor Invalidated – What Next?”, in which we analyzed the implications of yesterday’s decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union invalidating the EU-U.S. Safe Harbor Framework. A copy of the slide deck and a link to a recording of the webinar are attached to this post.
Safe Harbor Invalidated – What Next?
On 6 October 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union declared the EU-US Safe Harbor framework invalid as a mechanism to legitimize transfers of personal data from the EU to the US. This decision effectively leaves any organisation that relied on Safe Harbor exposed to claims that such data transfers are unlawful. In this post, we outline the effects of the decision and a suggested plan of action, and include details for a webinar we will be hosting on Wednesday, 7 October to discuss the next steps that organisations should take.
Commerce Department General Counsel Pushes Back Against EU Attacks on US Privacy
The US privacy framework is under attack from officials in the EU following revelations about NSA surveillance. Yesterday, US Department of Commerce General Counsel Cameron Kerry delivered his valedictory address before his departure from his position next week, and focused both on the progress made by the Obama Administration in privacy and offered the strongest […]
Commerce Department Calls for Improved Cybersecurity Through Voluntary Self-Regulatory Standards
At a time when hacks of major commercial computer systems are in the news, the Department of Commerce’s Internet Policy Task Force issued a green paper yesterday preliminarily recommending a new framework for Internet security for the myriad interconnected companies using the Internet other than those considered critical infrastructure. The report, described in this blog entry, proposes voluntary self-regulatory codes of conduct.
More Details and Analysis from Hogan Lovells of the FTC and Commerce Privacy Reports
In this blog post, we link to our more detailed analysis of the recently-issued FTC and Commerce reports on privacy.
Summary of Draft Department of Commerce Privacy Green Paper
The Hogan Lovells Chronicle of Data Protection has been given permission to reprint in its entirety here a Telecom Reports Daily analysis of the draft Department of Commerce Privacy Green Paper that has been much in the news. The reporter had an actual copy of the draft on which this analysis is based.