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
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
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
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
The EU is revising and replacing a 2016 regime to govern cybersecurity across the bloc. The European Union (EU) is floating a proposal to reform its 2016 law on cybersecurity throughout the European Union to address gaps the current regime is not addressing. This proposal was released in concert with a new cybersecurity strategy and … Continue reading New Cybersecurity Law and Strategy Unveiled
Two new suits filed against Google by state attorneys general. If the content detailed isn’t illegal behavior, get ready for even more shocking conduct from technology companies to stymie competitors and extract the maximum of any and all rents. Last month, two new suits were filed against Google, arguing that the company’s dominance in the … Continue reading New Google Antitrust Suits Filed
Further Reading “China Used Stolen Data To Expose CIA Operatives In Africa And Europe;” “Beijing Ransacked Data as U.S. Sources Went Dark in China;” “Tech Giants Are Giving China A Vital Edge In Espionage” By Zach Dorfman — Foreign Policy. This terrifying trio of articles lays bare the 180 degree change in espionage advantage the … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (5 January 2021)
Further Reading “Microsoft Says Russian Hackers Viewed Some of Its Source Code” By Nicole Perlroth — The New York Times. The Sluzhba vneshney razvedki Rossiyskoy Federatsii’s (SVR) hack keeps growing and growing with Microsoft admitting its source code was viewed through an employee account. It may be that authorized Microsoft resellers were one of the … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Development, and Coming Events (4 January 2021)
The EU releases its proposals to remake digital markets. The European Commission (EC) has released its draft proposals to remake how the European Union (EU) regulates digital markets and digital services, the latest in the bloc’s attempts to rein in what it sees as harms and abuses to people and competition in Europe and the … Continue reading EC Finally Unveils Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act
The European Commission frames a number of current and new programs as a paradigm shift in consumer rights in the EU. The European Commission (EC) has published its New Consumer Agenda that envisions nothing less than a remaking of the European Union’s (EU) approach to a number of key realms, including the digital world. If … Continue reading New EU Consumer Agenda
Michael Kans 