On May 5, 2020, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a plaintiff has standing to assert a claim under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) even without alleging any economic loss or data breach.  The court’s decision in Bryant v. Compass Group USA, Inc.,[1] held that merely alleging a failure to receive adequate disclosure or provide informed consent is sufficient to state a claim, potentially establishing in the Seventh Circuit a…

On May 4, 2020 the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) updated the guidelines on consent under the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (the “GDPR”). The guidelines were originally published by the Article 29 Working Party on April 10, 2018 and later endorsed by the EDPB.[1] The full text of the updated EDPB guidelines can be read here.…

On April 28, 2020, the Belgian data protection authority (the Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit / Autorité de protection des données, the “Belgian DPA”), handed down a decision imposing a €50,000 fine on Proximus, Belgium’s largest telecommunications operator, on the ground that Proximus had failed to protect its data protection officer (“DPO”) from conflicts of interests in violation of article 38(6) of the GDPR.[1] In the case at hand, the Belgian DPA ruled that the conflict arose from the fact that Proximus’…

As many organisations adjust their business operations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, network and data security are in the spotlight.  The significant increase in remote working, brings unique challenges and organisations must remain mindful of their legal obligations to keep personal data secure.  In particular, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) imposes a general obligation upon data controllers and processors to ensure the security of data processing against accidental or unlawful loss,…

Earlier this year, the Cybersecurity Unit (“CsU”) of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the United States Department of Justice released guidance for the private sector entitled “Legal Considerations when Gathering Online Cyber Threat Intelligence and Purchasing Data from Illicit Sources.”  The Guidance (available here) is intended to aid private actors to assess the potential legal exposure under federal criminal law as a result of engaging in common cyber intelligence-gathering activities on…

On April 15, 2020, the U.S. Departments of State, the Treasury, and Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued an advisory alert providing guidance on the North Korean cyber threat and steps to mitigate that threat (the “Alert”).[1]  The U.S. Government has repeatedly warned the private sector that North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“DPRK”), routinely engages in malicious cyber activities and has specifically targeted financial…