Trump Issues Cloud EO; Its Fate Is Unclear

On the last full day of his administration, then President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) “to address the use of United States Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) products by foreign malicious cyber actors.” This EO follows an Obama Administration EO that set up a formal structure to sanction foreign entities for “significant malicious … Continue reading Trump Issues Cloud EO; Its Fate Is Unclear →

New Section 230 Bill Would Make Platforms Liable For Civil Rights Violations

A senior Democratic Member of the primary committee of jurisdiction over 47 USC 230 (aka Section 230) has floated a discussion draft that would remove liability protection for technology companies for targeted advertising that violates civil rights laws. This bill is likely one of the opening salvos in the coming war on Capitol Hill between … Continue reading New Section 230 Bill Would Make Platforms Liable For Civil Rights Violations →

Wyden Gets DIA To Acknowledge Buying Location Data

Another agency admits to buying and using smartphone location data, using a loophole in the Fourth Amendment. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) has again prompted a national security agency to admit it is circumventing the Fourth Amendment bar against unreasonable searches and seizures in the United States (U.S.) However, given the current state of Fourth Amendment … Continue reading Wyden Gets DIA To Acknowledge Buying Location Data →

EDPB and EDPS Issue Opinions On EC’s Draft SCCs

The EU’s two bloc-wide data protection entities weighed in on the EC’s proposed changes to SCCs, meant to satisfy the Schrems II ruling. The European Union’s (EU) data protection authorities have rendered their joint opinions on the European Commission’s (EC) draft revisions of Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) permissible under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). … Continue reading EDPB and EDPS Issue Opinions On EC’s Draft SCCs →

France Reaches Agreement On Pay For Media; Australia Clashes With Google and Facebook On Same Issue

Google and France reach agreement on a scheme to compensate media while the company threatens to pull its search engine from Australia. Not long after Google reached agreement with French media on how to compensate them under France’s law to implement a European Union (EU) Directive, the company threatened to pull its search engine from … Continue reading France Reaches Agreement On Pay For Media; Australia Clashes With Google and Facebook On Same Issue →

Google Buys Fitbit Even Though U.S. and Australia May Still Oppose

The Google/Fitbit deal could ultimately get blocked. Even though the European Union (EU) has signed off on Google’s acquisition of Fitbit with some conditions, the United States (U.S.) and Australia are still assessing the deal. Moreover, given that both nations are in the midst of acting against Google and other tech companies, one, if not … Continue reading Google Buys Fitbit Even Though U.S. and Australia May Still Oppose →

ePrivacy Exception Proposed

Late last month, a broad exception to the EU’s privacy regulations became effective. My apologies. The first version of this post erroneously asserted the derogation to the ePrivacy Directive had been enacted. It has not, and this post has been re-titled and updated to reflect this fact. As the European Union (EU) continues to work … Continue reading ePrivacy Exception Proposed →

Chopra Named CFPB Head

The CFPB will undoubtedly be a more muscular enforcer of financial services entities under the FTC Commissioner nominated to head the agency, including with respect to privacy, data security, and cybersecurity. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rohit Chopra has been tapped by President-elect Joe Biden to lead the agency at which he oversaw the student … Continue reading Chopra Named CFPB Head →