Amazon discloses record-shattering $887M GDPR fine
Amazon disclosed it has received notice of a €746 million (U.S. $887 million) GDPR fine in Luxembourg for unlawful processing of personal data. The company intends to appeal the penalty, which would be more than 15 times the current record under the law.
TikTok 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.
California AG: ‘Great progress’ under CCPA despite no fines
California Attorney General Rob Bonta commemorated one year of CCPA enforcement with praise for the law despite there not yet being a publicly announced fine against a business.
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.
Colorado third state to enact comprehensive privacy law
The Colorado Privacy Act largely mirrors its predecessors in California and Virginia but includes greater fines per violation of $20,000. The law is set to take effect July 1, 2023.
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.
e-Book: The current state of global privacy regulation
Will states be able to move forward with their own privacy laws? A provision in a recent bill passed in Florida may be a stumbling block.
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.
CPE Webcast: How Motorola is transforming evidence collection for data protection compliance
A popular saying among security, privacy and corporate compliance circles is “trust, but verify”. It’s a popular saying because it neatly captures so much of what compliance professionals have to do: collecting evidence to verify compliance.
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.
CPE Webcast: Streamlining HIPAA & HITRUST compliance with an alternative reporting approach
Your organization might be using HITRUST to manage multiple compliance initiatives, including HIPAA, NIST and the ISOs. The framework sets up a good set of practices that lend well to various privacy regulations and standards, yet connecting all that data for fast reporting is where most organization’s hit a wall.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Survey: Data access further complicated by emerging privacy laws
A recent survey of 100 executives from Fortune 500 companies found more than half are struggling to balance easy access to company data with privacy and security compliance under laws like the GDPR and CCPA.
Private right of action proving problematic for state privacy laws
An enforcement provision allowing customers to sue businesses that misuse their personal data is a key stumbling point for state-level data privacy legislation.
What you need to know about proposed EU rules for trustworthy AI
With various levels of defined risk and the potential for steep fines for offenders, the European Commission’s recent proposal to ensure trust in the use of artificial intelligence should receive urgent attention from industries beyond Big Tech.
GDPR one-stop shop ‘unsustainable,’ says key regulators
Irish Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon and European Data Protection Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiórowski are among those who believe the one-stop shop provision of the GDPR needs to be reformed for the long term.
Lawmakers push FTC to investigate Google Play for COPPA violations
Two lawmakers sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission urging the agency to investigate Google Play for potentially violating children’s privacy.
Fines key attention to data privacy from boards, says ICO head
The threat of fines has done more to focus boardroom attention on data privacy and effective cyber-security than any other measure, U.K. Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham believes.
Privacy by design: How to lower risk and improve outcomes
Amy Holcroft, chief privacy officer at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, shares her experience using privacy-by-design practices to help her company develop and utilize technology in a way that meets compliance requirements.
New chief compliance officer, same Facebook
It isn’t surprising to see Facebook think it doesn’t have an ethical obligation to alert users to its latest data leak, writes Kyle Brasseur, but it is disappointing knowing the company now has a chief compliance officer in place.
CPE Webcast: Mastering knowing your data and establishing a defensible data inventory
In today’s data drive world, legal and compliance professionals must know their organization’s data, meaning the legal department must clearly understand how to quickly find and access data requested for litigation, audits and investigations, and how to protect data in compliance with privacy laws.
Facebook facing 10th GDPR probe over data leak
The Irish Data Protection Commission has launched an inquiry into Facebook over concerns the social media giant may not have properly disclosed the full extent of its recent data leak.
Facebook’s new leak: Assessing its liability under the GDPR
Old personal data of more than 533 million Facebook users was recently made publicly available on a hacker forum. Could the social media giant face a new investigation under the GDPR in response?
Irish DPC seeking answers on Facebook breach
The Irish Data Protection Commission has reached out to Facebook seeking to determine whether the social media giant’s weekend data breach should receive scrutiny under the General Data Protection Regulation.
Italian DPA fines Fastweb $5.3M under GDPR for aggressive telemarketing
The Italian Data Protection Authority announced a fine of €4.5 million (U.S. $5.3 million) against telecommunications company Fastweb for misusing customer data for telemarketing purposes.
Booking.com fined $557K under GDPR for reporting data breach late
Online reservation Website Booking.com has been fined €475,000 (U.S. $557,000) by the Dutch Data Protection Authority for reporting a data breach 22 days later than the 72 hours required under the GDPR.
Local laws proving to be roadblocks for GDPR harmonization
Recent cases in Germany, France, and Austria underscore the difficulty of getting EU members on the same page regarding GDPR enforcement—particularly when other local laws take priority.
Popular Clubhouse app being probed for GDPR violations
France’s data privacy watchdog adds to a growing list of regulators that have launched investigations into Alpha Exploration, the publisher of the Clubhouse application, regarding measures it has taken (or not taken) to comply with the GDPR.
Board members named to California’s first-in-the-nation data privacy board
The California Privacy Protection Agency, tasked with enforcing the state’s groundbreaking data privacy laws, now has a five-member board of directors.
Vodafone Spain fined record $9.72M for data protection failures
Vodafone Spain has been fined €8.15 million (U.S. $9.72 million) for aggressive telemarketing tactics and other data protection failures under the GDPR. The penalty is the highest the Spanish Data Protection Agency has handed out.
GDPR fines by industry: Telecoms far outpace Big Tech
Since the GDPR came into force in 2018, Big Tech firms have not been on the receiving end of fines as frequently as expected. Meanwhile, other industries have shown to be more prone to data privacy violations, namely telecommunications.
Ask a CCO: Are you in favor of federal data privacy legislation?
It’s a clean sweep: All five CCOs we spoke with are in favor of U.S. federal data privacy legislation. Read on for the reasoning behind their answers.
‘An invaluable asset’: Participants praise opportunity for feedback via GDPR sandboxes
Regulatory sandboxes launched by EU data protection authorities provide firms the opportunity to collaborate and make use of the regulator’s expertise to reduce GDPR compliance risks.
GDPR dealt blow as German court drops $17.2M Deutsche Wohnen fine
A €14.5 million (U.S. $17.2 million) fine against Deutsche Wohnen has been dropped after a German court found under German law the company could not be held responsible for violating the GDPR unless blame could be attached to a specific individual or executive.
Ask a CCO: How has your company prioritized data privacy compliance?
Five senior compliance practitioners tell us how their companies have reacted to recent privacy legislation like the GDPR, CCPA, and other state regulations in the pipeline.
Video: Google ad change a boon for privacy; red flags apparent in Greensill downfall
Aaron Nicodemus acknowledges Google’s decision to stop selling ads based on user browsing history as a good first step, while Kyle Brasseur laments apparent red flags ignored in the seemingly impending collapse of Greensill Capital.
More than a CCPA clone? Virginia passes nation’s second comprehensive privacy law
In what might be a sign of things to come for data privacy legislation nationwide, Virginia passed the country’s second comprehensive data privacy law. How does it stack up to its peer in California?
Special report: Compliance, infosec & battling cyber-threats
LifePoint Health’s VP for Compliance Program Operations/Chief Privacy Officer Ellen Hunt and VP/CISO Andy Heins share how they work ”hand in glove” to protect their company’s data from bad actors.
TikTok $92M settlement includes data privacy compliance training program
TikTok is seeking preliminary approval of a class-action settlement with terms that would require the video sharing platform to establish a $92 million settlement fund and create a new compliance framework, according to court documents.
Video: SEC on right path with climate disclosures; alleged privacy lapses at Amazon troubling
Aaron Nicodemus applauds the SEC for taking steps to clarify how companies should disclose economic risks posed by climate change, while Dave Lefort is critical of alleged lapses in data security at Amazon.
Ireland GDPR report: Big fines coming soon for Big Tech?
Ireland’s data regulator has 27 ongoing cross-border inquiries into Big Tech firms, according to its latest annual report. It expects several cases to be resolved in the coming year.
CW panel: Preparing for the return to the workplace—and the next pandemic
Experts at CW’s “Compliance Considerations for the New Workplace” virtual summit discuss striking the balance between complying with laws applicable to matters of health and safety while still respecting employee privacy in the return to the office and beyond.
EDPS opinion puts targeted advertising in crosshairs
The EU’s chief data regulator says planned regulations to oversee the tech sector should be tightened further to ban targeted advertising based on tracking online activity—an opinion that could prompt Big Tech and adtech firms to lobby hard against the changes.
Facebook fined $8.4M for data collection practices in Italy
Facebook has been fined €7 million (U.S. $8.4 million) by Italy’s antitrust regulator for failing to address issues related to its personal data collection practices.
Survey: Firms enhanced cyber-security in 2020, but not enough
Companies forced to pivot to remote work in a global health crisis spent the bulk of 2020 grappling with heightened cyber-security risks. A year later, compliance practitioners say their companies’ cyber-security postures are better for it—even in the wake of the stunning SolarWinds hack.