Neil Hodge
Neil Hodge is a freelance business journalist and photographer based in Nottingham, United Kingdom. He writes on insurance and risk management, corporate governance, internal audit, compliance, and legal issues for a wide range of publications in the United Kingdom and United States.
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ArticleTikTok fined $883K under GDPR for children’s privacy violations
The Dutch Data Protection Authority imposed a €750,000 (U.S. $883,000) fine on TikTok for violating the privacy of young children following a wide-scale investigation launched last year.
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New agency Europe’s latest hope to curb AML struggles
The European Commission unveiled new plans to set up an agency specifically aimed at tackling the region’s spiraling problems with money laundering.
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SFO secures DPAs worth $3.4M with two unnamed companies
The Serious Fraud Office announced deferred prosecution agreements worth £2.5 million (U.S. $3.4 million) with two unidentified U.K.-based companies for bribery offenses.
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FCA pledge to be more assertive rings hollow amid enforcement drops
A steady decrease in enforcement activity makes it easy to question whether the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority is in position to become the “more innovative, assertive, and adaptive regulator” it pledges to be.
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The debate over AI: Regulate the tech or its use?
Recent comments by Facebook’s top executive in charge of developing AI reignite the debate over whether regulators should be more focused on reining in the technology itself or just the way it is used.
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10 years of U.K. Bribery Act: Compliance enough to define law’s success?
The U.K. Bribery Act marked its 10th anniversary this month, but views are mixed about how the legislation and its enforcement have fared in the decade since it came into force.
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Italian DPA cites biased tech in $3.1M GDPR fine
Italy’s data protection authority fined food delivery company Foodinho €2.6 million (U.S. $3.1 million) because the app at the core of its business model allegedly discriminated against employees.
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British Airways settles 2018 data breach class action
British Airways has settled one of the U.K.’s largest group actions after thousands of people sought compensation following a 2018 data breach that resulted in the airline being fined under the GDPR.
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PwC audit facing scrutiny amid Greensill collapse fallout
Big Four firm PwC is under investigation for its audit of Wyelands Bank as part of a larger U.K. review linked to the recent collapse of Greensill Capital.
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U.K. AML expert convicted of aiding money launderers
A U.K. money laundering prevention expert was found guilty of allowing criminals to use his company to launder the proceeds of an £850,000 (U.S. $1.2 million) investment fraud that resulted in dozens of victims being ripped off.
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New tech, legal precedent forcing GDPR to evolve
Companies’ priorities regarding compliance with the GDPR are likely to become more focused because of a mixture of recent legal decisions and efforts by the European Commission to keep privacy rules in sync with changes in technology.
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AML compliance proving tall hurdle for U.K. crypto firms
The U.K.’s financial regulator has been forced to extend a registration deadline for cryptocurrency firms by nearly nine months because so few have been able to meet even basic anti-money laundering requirements.
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New rules for SCCs: What you need to know
The latest set of standard contractual clauses for companies transferring data between the European Union and third countries, such as the United States, is meant to align more closely with the GDPR and root out government snooping.
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CJEU ruling opens Facebook, others to greater GDPR liability
The EU’s top court ruled any of the bloc’s national data protection authorities can pursue a privacy complaint against Facebook or any other Big Tech firm and not just the supervisory authority where the company has its European headquarters.
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Reported Amazon fine ($425M) ‘biggest test’ of GDPR enforcement yet
Amazon reportedly faces a fine of more than $425 million under the GDPR that would show EU regulators firmly have Big Tech companies—and their practices—in their crosshairs.
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EU probes of Microsoft, Amazon reignite calls for new Privacy Shield
European investigations into whether Amazon and Microsoft’s cloud-based services infringe EU privacy rules have once again shone a spotlight on how—and when—the United States and the European Union intend to come up with a new Privacy Shield.
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Report: GDPR fines more than doubled in Year 3
Data protection authorities issued 287 known GDPR fines between March 2020 and March 2021—a 120 percent increase in frequency, according to a new report from CMS.
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GDPR’s future: Fine amounts, transparency among top points of contention
Experts believe the GDPR is largely “future-proof,” though fine decisions that vary considerably from one EU country to the next and lack of transparency remain areas of concern for the privacy law three years in.
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Three years of GDPR: Many milestones, but calls for change increase
Despite its achievements, the General Data Protection Regulation’s flaws have become evident. Some are already questioning whether the regulation—and the way it is regulated—are fit for purpose and whether the law needs to be changed.
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U.K. regulatory system also at fault in Greensill collapse
The collapse of Greensill Capital has led to investigations into how the company got into the financial mess it did and why alarm bells didn’t ring. But one investigation is noticeably conspicuous by its absence—why the company wasn’t properly regulated in the first place.
