On February 27, 2013, the European Article 29 Working Party (a group comprising representatives from all of the data protection authorities of the EU Member States, referred to in this articles as “WP29”) issued an Opinion on the privacy and data protection implications of the use of apps on mobile devices (“the Opinion”). The Opinion… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Europe
German Court Says Facebook Not Subject to German Law
Posted in LitigationFacebook may be gaining ground in its struggle against German authorities. In a preliminary ruling, the state of Schleswig-Holstein’s Administrative Court has rejected penalties against Facebook Inc. and Facebook Ireland, stating that the social network is not subject to German law. The Schleswig-Holstein state data protection authority (the ULD) started enforcement proceedings against the social… Continue Reading
Dear Facebook, Could You Please Forget I Exist?
Posted in PrivacyEurope is currently undergoing a significant reform of its privacy regime. Under the current European Union (EU) Privacy Directive, individuals already have broad rights curtailing companies’ ability to process their personal data. The proposed EU Privacy Regulation seeks to broaden these rights even further. In particular, the proposed “right to be forgotten” may ultimately impose… Continue Reading
“You Have One New Lawsuit”: Can You Serve Legal Notice Through Social Media?
Posted in LitigationAs reported by Law360 and several other sources, on June 7, 2012, in Fortunato v. Chase Bank, a federal district court ruled that defendant Chase Bank could not use Facebook to serve a third-party defendant with the complaint that Chase had filed against her. In Fortunato, plaintiff Lorri Fortunato sued Chase Bank, alleging that the… Continue Reading
Tracking the Trolls: A “Twitter Jitters” Update
Posted in E-Personation, LitigationWe reported this past May in our Socially Aware blog about efforts of law enforcement authorities in the United Kingdom to adapt existing laws to police potential offenses committed via social media. The UK government has just announced proposals that will make it easier to identify people who abuse social media. The UK government’s somewhat surprising… Continue Reading
Should We All Be Getting the Twitter “Jitters”? Be Careful What You Say Online (Particularly in the United Kingdom)
Posted in Ethics, LitigationHistory is littered with examples of the law being slow to catch up with the use of technology. Social media is no exception. As our Socially Aware blog attests, countries around the world are having to think fast to apply legal norms to rapidly evolving communications technologies and practices. Law enforcement authorities in the United… Continue Reading
Agreement Reached in Belgium on Google Street View Privacy Concerns
Posted in Privacy2010 and 2011 witnessed Google’s rollout of Street View, the search company’s mobile panoramic mapping service, in a number of European countries — but not without challenges to the Internet giant, which has had to enter into a variety of agreements with local European data protection regulators. On the heels of clashes with data protection… Continue Reading
Facebook Not “Liked” in Europe, Overhauls Its Privacy Settings
Posted in PrivacyFacebook’s “Like” button has been creating problems for Facebook in Europe. Thilo Weichert, the data protection commissioner for the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, has told all website owners based in the state to stop using web analytics associated with Facebook, including its “Like” button. “Facebook builds a broad individual and for members even a… Continue Reading
Linking Liability: One Win, One Loss for Google in Europe
Posted in CopyrightAlthough Google has been generally successful to date in defending against copyright claims in the United States, it has had a more mixed track record in Europe. Recently, Google scored a victory in France in an infringement suit over Google’s linking to music file sharing sites, but suffered a setback in Belgium with respect to… Continue Reading