Since it started in May 2018, enforcement of the rules of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) across the EU has revealed various national trends and differences in approach. Yet one difference seems to dwarf all others: the variation in the amount of the fines for GDPR violations. This has led the European Data Protection
GDPR
Meet DeFine, a GDPR Fine Calculator



On May 12, 2022, the European Data Protection Board published guidelines with a methodology for calculating fines for violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These guidelines were subject to a public consultation until June 27, 2022.
Because these guidelines are likely to have an influence on future decisions by data protection authorities in…
EDPB on Dark Patterns: Lessons for Marketing & Technical Teams

“Dark patterns” – social media platform interfaces that can lead users to make unintended and potentially harmful decisions regarding the processing of their personal data – are a subject of increasing scrutiny in the EU. New guidelines of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) on “dark patterns in social media platform interfaces” confirm the focus…
UK ICO Finalizes Rules for Children’s Content


The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) recently finalized its Age-appropriate design: a code of practice for online services (the code). The code applies to any “relevant information society services which are likely to be accessed by children” (by which the ICO means minors under age 18), whether designed for kids or general audiences. The new…
What’s Next After Facebook’s Record $5 Billion Fine and Cambridge Analytica?


Facebook is facing some big changes after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settled with the social media giant over charges that it violated an earlier consent agreement. The company will pay a penalty of $5 billion, which is not only the biggest privacy fine in history, but also, according to FTC commissioner Noah Phillips, “almost…
UK ICO Proposes GDPR Fines for British Airways and Marriott Data Breaches


Earlier this week, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced its intent to fine British Airways £183,390 million ($230 million) and its intent to fine Marriott International more than £99 million ($123 million) for violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) arising out of data breaches. The ICO investigated the breaches as the lead…
Sheila Millar Authors Law360 Article “UK’s Proposed Age-Appropriate Data Code Would Be Onerous”

In a recent Law360 article, Sheila Millar discusses a proposal from the British Information Commissioners Office (ICO) that significantly restricts how information society services deemed likely to be accessed by children must handle the data they collect, use, and share. In “UK’s Proposed Age-Appropriate Data Code Would Be Onerous” (July 3), she delves into how…
EDPB Advises on Overlap Between the ePrivacy Directive and GDPR


The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has weighed in on the interplay between the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the ePrivacy Directive in response to questions from the Belgian Data Protection Authority (DPA). Addressing how and when each set of rules applies to processing data, the EDPB stated that “these questions concern a matter…
National Privacy Legislation May be on the Horizon


The recent passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPR) earlier this summer and the entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) last May has put consumer privacy squarely on the national agenda. Now there are signs that government is responding. While a number of privacy bills have been introduced in Congress…
European Court of Justice Throws Out Class Action in Latest Schrems Battle


In the latest round of the ongoing battle between Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems and Facebook, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruled that Schrems did not have standing to bring claims on behalf of Austrian consumers over Facebook’s alleged violations of users’ privacy rights. The court did, however, allow for Schrems to continue with…