Christopher Wolf

Firm/Organization: Hogan Lovells

Blogs: Focus on Regulation, Global Media and Communications Watch, HL Chronicle of Data Protection

Latest Articles

Why the U.S. Is Held to a Higher Data Protection Standard Than France

By Christopher Wolf & Winston Maxwell on November 11, 2015

In a recent column for The New York Times, Nils Muiznieks, the top human rights official for the Council of Europe, warned that recent surveillance laws in Europe undermine fundamental rights for European citizens. Plus, an October 29, 2015, resolution of the European Parliament complains of an “obvious downward spiral” resulting from mass surveillance laws in the U.S. and Europe. That certain European countries have laws permitting mass surveillance is not news to lawyers…

HL Chronicle of Data Protection

Why the U.S. Is Held to a Higher Data Protection Standard Than France

By Christopher Wolf & Winston Maxwell on November 6, 2015

HL Chronicle of Data Protection

The Auto Industry Is Serious About Connected Car Privacy

By Christopher Wolf on March 5, 2015

This article was originally posted on March 4, 2015 to The Hill’s “Congress Blog.” To access the original posting, click here. This week, two thousand members of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), will gather in Washington, D.C. to discuss the most pressing privacy and data security issues of the day. One issue that has started to appear on the privacy agenda is privacy and the “connected car.”…

HL Chronicle of Data Protection

The Hidden Mini-Dissents in the Data Broker Report of Federal Trade Commissioner Wright

By Christopher Wolf on August 1, 2014

On May 27, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a report on the data broker industry that found data brokers operate with a “fundamental lack of transparency.” The commission unanimously recommended that Congress consider enacting legislation to make data broker practices more visible to consumers and to give consumers greater control over the immense amounts of personal information about them that are collected and shared by data brokers. Not well-recognized at the time were a…

Focus on Regulation

EU Data Protection Supervisor’s workshop examines role of privacy in merger reviews and competition investigations

By Peter Citron & Christopher Wolf on July 31, 2014

Should privacy issues be part of merger review and competition investigations? That was the question addressed in a recent workshop convened by the European Data Protection Supervisor (the “EDPS”). A report issued after the workshop concludes that the world of “Big Data” likely will require consideration of privacy in competition matters. What was the workshop? The workshop, which was hosted by EDPS in the European Parliament in Brussels on 2 June 2014, discussed the technological…

Focus on Regulation

2014 Intelligence Authorization Act Requires Contractors to Report Cybersecurity Breaches

By Michael McGill, Tom McGovern, Harriet Pearson, Christopher Wolf & Michael Scheimer on July 21, 2014

On Monday, 7 July, the president signed into law the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 (Pub. L. 113-126), which requires intelligence contractors with security clearances to promptly report network and information system penetrations and provide government investigators access to such systems. This new statutory cybersecurity reporting requirement for cleared intelligence contractors is largely consistent with a reporting requirement applicable to cleared U.S. Department of Defense contractors under the National Defense Authorization Act…

HL Chronicle of Data Protection

Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin Selected Head of Article 29 Working Party

By Christopher Wolf on February 27, 2014

Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, the recently reelected president of the French Data Protection Authority, the CNIL, was elected today to head the Article 29 Working Party for two years effective immediately. The Article 29 Working brings together representatives of data protection authorities of the EU Member States, the European Data Protection Supervisor, and other European data protection authorities as observers. The Working Party is influential in its examination and pronouncements on EU data protection matters, and is charged with giving expert advice to the…

HL Chronicle of Data Protection

Commerce Department General Counsel Pushes Back Against EU Attacks on US Privacy

By Christopher Wolf on August 29, 2013

The US privacy framework is under attack from officials in the EU following revelations about NSA surveillance. Yesterday, US Department of Commerce General Counsel Cameron Kerry delivered his valedictory address before his departure from his position next week, and focused both on the progress made by the Obama Administration in privacy and offered the strongest push-back to date on the attacks leveled against the US framework from the EU, including threats to nullify the EU-US…

HL Chronicle of Data Protection

EU VP Reding Uses PRISM as Lever to Push Enactment of Regulation and Questions EU-US Safe Harbor

By Christopher Wolf on July 19, 2013

Earlier today, in a brisk memo (reproduced in its entirety below), EU Vice President Viviane Reding called EU data protection reform “the answer to PRISM” and called PRISM a “wake-up call.” She itemized the need for broad jurisdiction and enforcement, and stated that governments collecting data on EU citizens outside their territory never should obtain it directly from a company but should function only under judicial control. It is not clear whether the FISA Court in the US…

HL Chronicle of Data Protection

FTC Report Indicates That Almost One in Five Consumer Complaints Involves Identity Theft

By Christopher Wolf & Mark Brennan on March 1, 2013

This week, the Federal Trade Commission released its 2012 Annual Report of consumer complaints. For the thirteenth year in a row, identity theft was the number one complaint category, underscoring consumers’ continued focus on identity theft concerns. Identity theft complaints accounted for 18% of the overall complaints and far more than any other complaint category. Within the identity theft category, government documents and benefits fraud was the most common type, accounting for 46% of the…

Christopher Wolf

Why the U.S. Is Held to a Higher Data Protection Standard Than France

Why the U.S. Is Held to a Higher Data Protection Standard Than France

The Auto Industry Is Serious About Connected Car Privacy

The Hidden Mini-Dissents in the Data Broker Report of Federal Trade Commissioner Wright

EU Data Protection Supervisor’s workshop examines role of privacy in merger reviews and competition investigations

2014 Intelligence Authorization Act Requires Contractors to Report Cybersecurity Breaches

Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin Selected Head of Article 29 Working Party

Commerce Department General Counsel Pushes Back Against EU Attacks on US Privacy

EU VP Reding Uses PRISM as Lever to Push Enactment of Regulation and Questions EU-US Safe Harbor

FTC Report Indicates That Almost One in Five Consumer Complaints Involves Identity Theft

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