Season's Greetings and Happy New (DataProtection) Year

Commission adapts notification procedures following State aid modernisation package

The European Commission has adopted a new state aid Implementing Regulation. In the context of the State Aid Modernisation (SAM) initiative, State aid guidelines and frameworks have been modified. The Commission has therefore updated certain procedural rules set out in the Implementation Regulation in order to align notifications of planned state aid measures submitted by Member States with the new rules. The new Implementing Regulation contains revised notification forms and information sheets to be completed by Member States. It allows the Commission to collect all the necessary information for conducting a sound assessment. 

The new Implementing Regulation also provides further guidance to Member States on how to comply with transparency requirements introduced by SAM. In particular, it includes which information Member States should publish about aid measures above a certain threshold. This will improve the transparency of public funding, reduce uncertainties and enable companies to check aid granted to competitors. The full text of the new regulation will be published on the DG Competition website today. It will then be published in the EU Official Journal and enter into force 20 days after its publication there. 

read full article at Europa 

Mergers: Commission continues investigation of Hutchison 3G /Telefónica UK merger without referral to UK

Commission does not refer investigation of Hutchison/Telefónica UK merger to UK

The European Commission has decided not to refer the planned acquisition of Telefónica UKby Hutchison to the UK competition authority. The Commission concluded that it was better placed to ensure consistency in the application of merger control rules in the mobile telecommunications sector across the European Economic Area (EEA).

On 11 September 2015, Hutchison 3G UK notified its plans to acquire sole control of Telefónica UK to the Commission.

On 2 October 2015, the UK competition authority submitted a request under Article 9(2) (a) of the EU Merger Regulation. This provision allows a Member State to request the Commission to refer all or part of the assessment of a case to it, provided that the competitive effects are purely national.

In deciding whether to refer a case upon such a request, the Commission particularly takes into account which authority is better placed to deal with the case at hand. In the case of Hutchison 3G UK/Telefónica UK, the Commission concluded that, given its extensive experience in assessing cases in this sector, it was better placed to deal with the transaction and ensure consistency in the application of merger control rules in the mobile telecommunications sectors across the EEA.

read full article at Europa 

First-Ever Breach Notification Law Passed in the EU

The European Union agreed Monday to its first cybersecurity law, dubbed the Network and Information Security Directive, which mandates certain companies, like those operating critical infrastructure or financial services, along with Internet companies such as Amazon and Google, to report large-scale security incidents, Reuters reports. "The Internet knows no border—a problem in one country can have a knock-on effect in the rest of Europe,” said the European Commission’s Digital Chief, Andrus Ansip. “This is why we need EU-wide cybersecurity solutions.


This agreement is an important step in this direction,” he added. “Member states will have to cooperate more on cybersecurity, which is even more important in light of the current security situation in Europe,” said European Parliament's Rapporteur Andreas Schwab.


read full article at IAPP

EU counter-terror bill is 'indiscriminate' data sweep

Legislators are rushing through a counter-terrorism bill described by the EU's top data protection chief as one of the largest indiscriminate collections of personal data in the history of the European Union.

MEPs on Thursday (10 December) are set to rubber stamp the EU's passenger name record (PNR) bill following intense pressure from French authorities in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo killings earlier this year and the Paris attacks in November.

Giovanni Buttarelli, the European data protection supervisor, remains highly critical.

"The establishment of a new large-scale database will require years and an unbelievable about of money,” he told this website on Wednesday (9 December).

"[PNR] is the first large-scale and indiscriminate collection of personal data in the history of the European Union.”

The bill, described by French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve as "indispensable in the fight against terrorism,” will add to the ever-expanding list of counter-terrorism measures in Europe.

By Nikolaj Nielsen 

read full article at EUobserver 

The European Union's case of doublethink: New cybersecurity rules and backdoor dreams

EU lawmakers have agreed to enforce a set of cybersecurity rules across the bloc which demand that critical service providers can no longer brush data breaches under the carpet -- but contrary beliefs when it comes to backdoors and weakened cryptography threaten to completely negate all efforts.

Businesses operating in the European bloc that deliver essential services, such as transport control or electricity grid management, will soon be expected to invest in security solutions which will make corporate networks robust enough to withstand cyberattacks -- if that is ever possible, of course -- due to a fresh set of regulations laid down by members of the European Union. 

By Charlie Osborne 

read full article at ZDNet 

Employee Error Leading Cause of Data Breaches, New Survey Says

A company’s cybersecurity is only as strong as its weakest link.

“Employee error” turns out to be the most common reason for a data breach at companies, according to a new cybersecurity report released Wednesday by the Association of Corporate Counsel. This means the breach occurred as the result of a mistake the employee made, such as accidentally sending an email with sensitive information to someone outside the company. 

By  Nicole Hong  

read full article at WSJ 

Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin: We are not asking for a Safe Harbour number 2

The United States must answer the real concerns of EU judges about European citizens' data within the US, when it is accessed by the American intelligence services, says Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin.

Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin is head of the French data protection authority CNIL and current chair of the Article 29 Working Party, the group of privacy watchdogs from EU member states.

After the European Court of Justice ruled the Safe Harbour data sharing agreement between the EU and the US invalid in October, the group called on the Commission to strike a deal with the US on a new data transfer agreement by the end of January 2016.

Falque-Pierrotin was interviewed by Catherine Stupp. 

read full article at EurActive  

With No European Safe Harbor, Facebook Faces Privacy Complaints On Multiple Fronts

Facebook’s least favorite Austrian, lawyer and privacy campaigner, Max Schrems, has updated his data protection complaints against the social network giant in the light of the recent EJC strikedown of the Safe Harbor transatlantic data-sharing agreement.

Schrems has now filed an updated complaint against Facebook with the Irish data protection authority — where his original complaint was filed back in June 2013. The substance of the complaint relates to European Facebook users’ data being pulled into NSA mass surveillance programs once it has been exported to the U.S. — and thereby, Schrems contends, undermining fundamental European data protection rights.

by Natasha Lomas 

read full article at Techcrunch 

EU lawmakers, countries agree on bloc's first cyber-security law

EU lawmakers and member states struck a deal on the bloc's first cyber-security law on Monday that will require Internet firms such as Google and Amazon to report serious breaches or face sanctions.

The deal, following five hours of negotiations between the European Parliament and EU governments, was reached in response to increasing worries about cyber attacks resulting in security and privacy breaches. 

by Julia Fioretti 

read full article at Reuters 

Telecoms giant BT in £15m data deal with government

Telecoms giant BT is set to provide data centre services to the Department of Finance and Personnel under a £15m contract.

The facilities will house IT services for both the Northern Ireland Civil Service and the wider public sector.

BT will manage the two centres' operations, while the public sector will continue to manage the IT systems within them.

read full article at Belfast Telegraph 

Orange reaffirms it has no plans for Telecom Italia tie-up

French telecoms group Orange reaffirmed on Wednesday that it has no plans for a tie-up with Telecom Italia and that it has not begun any discussions with the Italian telecoms operator. 

"Contrary to certain rumours in the press and other speculation, Orange affirms that it has not started discussions with Telecom Italia and that there is no plan for a tie-up," an Orange spokesman said in an emailed statement.

Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters that Orange had hired investment banks Morgan Stanley and BNP Paribas to assess the merits of doing a deal with other network operators in Europe, including Telecom Italia.

read full article at ET Telecoms 

Orange denies Telecom Italia talks but reviews European market

Orange is not in talks with Telecom Italia (TI) but hired investment banks to advise on a European strategy, according to media reports.

Among the options are a potential tie-up with Telecom Italia, according to a Bloomberg report. However, the company later said no talks had actually taken place with the Italian incumbent. Likewise, TI’s CEO Marco Patuano denied discussions had occurred earlier this week.

“Orange’s financial and strategic management team is working with banks to finetune its view of the evolution of the telecoms sector in the context of a single market on a 5- to 10-year horizon,” an Orange spokesman told Reuters.

by Richard Handford 

read full article at Mobile World 

BT trying to 'remonopolise' UK telecoms sector, says Vodafone chief

The Vodafone chief has accused BT of trying to turn Britain’s telecoms sector back into a monopoly by forcing broadband on to its old network and giving consumers speeds that are slower than in southern Europe.

Vittorio Colao called for BT’s infrastructure division, Openreach, which operates the cable network, to be spun off into a separate company so UK consumers could get access to modern, fast fibre connections.

He said splitting off Openreach would stave off the biggest risk facing the industry in the UK and Europe – “remonopolisation” – which could turn back 30 years of increased competition and better service.

BT responded that Colao’s comments were “highly misleading” and that the UK was one of the world’s most competitive telecoms markets.

by Sean Farrell

read full article at The Guardian 

CCS’s yearly forecast sees telecoms mergers and rise of wearables

Next year could see radical new smartphone designs, a move by Google into European mobile services and the possible acquisition of broadcaster ITV by BT as it seeks to strengthen its television platform.

That is according to the latest predictions by analysts CCS Insight, whose annual forecasts for the technology, telecoms and media sectors are keenly watched by industry executives, and were published on Wednesday. 

CCS appears on relatively safe ground with a forecast that the European telecoms market could consolidate into six or seven major telecom providers by 2025, with companies including Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone, CK Hutchison, Altice and TeliaSonera expected to lead the deal making.

Regulators in Brussels have also flagged that cross-border mergers would be welcomed to strengthen regional businesses.

by Daniel Thomas 

read full article at Financial Times 

EU hopes for new ‘safe harbor’ deal with US by January

The United States and European Union will take stock December 17 on negotiations over data transfers across the Atlantic. The new agreement will replace the “safe harbor” pact struck down by a European court last month.

EU Justice Commissioner Věra Jourová told Austrian newspaper Wirtschaftsblatt that the replacement legislation to the safe harbor pact, which was struck down by the European Court of Justice, will be reviewed. The Commission aims to conclude negotiations in January 2016.

This agreement will be a “bridge” between the data protection authorities of the EU and the U.S, she said in the interview published on Monday.

Since the safe harbor decision, companies have been scrambling to find legal avenues to transfer data across the Atlantic. The safe harbor agreement was used by more than 4,000 companies, including Facebook, Adobe, and Weight Watchers.

By Ginger Hervey
read full article at Politico 

Deal close on EU passenger name records

Fear of easy transit for terrorists appears to have galvanized political leaders to finish legislation to track airline passengers within the European Union and abroad. 

The next round of three-way negotiations between European Parliament, Council and Commission starts Wednesday, with the final scheduled meeting on the 15th and a goal for a year-end pact. 

Some camps are far apart on a few key issues, including geographic scope and the length of data storage, but the Paris attacks apparently have made some politicians ready to deal. 

“[The socialist and liberal groups] are probably under more pressure and are more willing to discuss,” said Axel Voss, the shadow rapporteur for the center-right European People’s Party (EPP). “But deep in their hearts, they don’t like it.”

by Zoya Sheftalovich and David Meyer 

read full article at Politico

More of GDPR Comes Into Focus: Fines, DPOs and Breaches

With eight trilogue meetings in the books, the negotiators looking to reach a final draft of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation by Christmas are in the home stretch. Yet again this week, Green MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht, Parliamentarian rapporteur for the GDPR, reported a goal of reaching an agreement before the end of the year. No party from the Commission or Council has indicated anything to the contrary. 

Rather, we are now seeing the release of compromise positions as lobbying from consumer and industry groups intensify. 

Most recently, Statewatch.org released two documents from the Luxembourg presidency, the first is a 186-page consolidated draft of the entire document in “preparation for trilogue,” which will continue with meetings December 10 and 15, the second is a targeted summary of proposed compromise positionsthat the Luxembourg presidency would like for the full Council to consider. 

The presidency asks that the Council’s Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) consider the recommended compromise positions when it meets Dec. 2.

by Sam Pfeifle
read full article at IAPP

Freedom of the press is bad news for net neutrality

When the FCC adopted net neutrality rules earlier this year, Chairman Tom Wheeler assured skeptics that rules regulating broadband Internet service providers (ISPs) “do not regulate Internet content.” 

This theory rests on a seriously flawed (though all too common) understanding of the First Amendment. The troubling fact is that the FCC’s new regulations governing ISPs – the companies that deliver Internet content to people’s homes – threaten basic liberties guaranteed under the Bill of Rights. 

Wheeler’s interpretation of the First Amendment’s prohibition against laws “abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press," treats the freedoms of speech and the press as if they were one and the same. But the Founders recognized that freedom of speech and freedom of the press are distinct concepts that both need clear protection. Speech refers primarily to communications themselves (e.g., the spoken or written word) and the press refers to the technologies and processes that produce mass communications. 

By Fred B. Campbell, Jr.

read full article at The Hill 

Internet of Things: many uses but what about rules?

The European Union is expecting great benefits from the Internet of Things, but the online connection of physical devices via sensors is also a potential head-scratcher for policymakers.

There is a multitude of possibly disruptive ways in which the Internet of Things (IoT) may affect European legislation.

“It's easy to get a headache. Where do you start?”, said the European Commission's Thibaut Kleiner recently.

Kleiner, head of the commission unit that deals with network technologies, moderated a panel session on IoT policy last Thursday (26 November), at a Brussels conference titled 'The Future of Internet of Things in Europe', organised by the Digital Enlightenment Forum, Huawei, and the European Parliament's magazine.

By Peter Teffer 

read full article at EU Observer 

A privacy standard for Internet of Things suppliers

The Internet of Things (IoT) is poised to generate the next economic big bang. But the expected boom will go bust if people worry about losing their privacy in the IoT ecosystem. 

The time is right for the stakeholders who stand to gain billions from the IoT to rally behind a common privacy standard that earns user trust.

Industry analysts agree on one thing: An explosion of Internet-enabled consumer products, connected cars, smart homes and wearables will generate a global economic boom over the next five years. 

One third of enterprise respondents to Computerworld’s Forecast Study 2015 last November said they were initiating IoT initiatives this year. Forbes reported in July that the pace had dramatically accelerated, with over three-quarters now jumping onto the IoT bandwagon. 

By Jay Cline
read full article at ComputerWorld 

Facebook bows to Belgian privacy ruling over cookies

Facebook has said that it will respond to a privacy ruling in Belgium by requiring users to log in to view pages on the site.

The original ruling, made by the Belgian Privacy Commissioner (BPC) in November, relates to Facebook cookies that track the activity of non-users.

The company expects to receive an order this week, which it will contest. But in the meantime, cookies will not be set for non-users and accounts will be needed to access content.

Cookies are text files that record the web activity of users and the one in question, which Facebook has named datr, can live in a web user's browser for two years.

By Chris Baraniuk
read full article at BBC 

Congress Considers Email Privacy Reform

Just days after the largest reform to U.S. surveillance law in years took effect, lawmakers on Tuesday held a long-awaited hearing on reforming the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). By far the most widely supported bill in Congress, the Email Privacy Act—introduced nearly two-and-a-half years ago—was the center of attention during the House Judiciary Committee hearing, and though it was clear lawmakers on the whole supported it, there is still disagreement on how best to move forward.

“Everyone on this panel agrees a warrant requirement for digital information is needed,” said Red Branch Consulting Founder Paul Rosenzweig, one of six panelists at the hearing. “It’s unbelievable we haven’t been able to work out the details of how to do that.”

At one end, civil and criminal law enforcement are concerned that parts of the proposed reforms will hurt their ability to investigate criminal activity, while at the other, the technology industry as well as privacy and civil liberties advocates are concerned that a nearly 30-year-old law is being rapidly outdated by digital technology and needs an update ASAP.

Jedidiah Bracy, CIPP/E, CIPP

read full article at IAPP 

Internet of Things to create security risks, EU cyber expert says

The popularisation of the so-called Internet of Things will be accompanied with an increase in cyber threats.

“I can predict there will be applications which are not secure, because they are done by inexperienced people, and statistically you will then hear of more threats,” Udo Helmbrecht, executive director of the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (Enisa) said in an interview in Brussels.

By Peter Teffer
read full article at EUObserver
 

Net neutrality protestors bundled out of UN conference

Efforts to protest Facebook's Internet.org project at the annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) being held in Brazil this week were shut down by United Nations security staff.

 

A video of the protest – carried out during an opening speech by Brazil's communication minister André Figueiredo – shows around 10 protestors holding up messages in Portuguese and English complaining that the Internet.org service was a violation of net neutrality.

 

When a second group tries to unfurl a large banner that reads "free basic = free of basic right" with a large Facebook thumb pointing down, UN security staff appear on the scene and start to pull all the signs down.

 

The protest did not interrupt the minister's speech and the protestors were escorted from the room and their banners confiscated. However, the fact that the protest was shut down prompted complaints online, especially since other protests over the controversial service in Brazil have been allowed to carry on unimpeded.

read full article at  TheRegister

Tech companies fail to make the grade on privacy

The Corporate Accountability Index 2015 ranked 16 international technology and telecommunications companies on their commitment to human rights including privacy and freedom of expression.

To compile the digital rights ranking, researchers combed through user agreements, privacy policies, terms of service and corporate reports of companies such as Facebook, Vodaphone and Bharti Airtel.

Google ranked the highest, followed by Yahoo, while the Asian telecommunications company Axiata and the Emirates-based Etisalat ranked lowest.

Rebecca MacKinnon is the director of Ranking Digital Rights, the non-profit research initiative behind the study. MacKinnon has long been active in the fields of freedom of expression and privacy, and is a founding member of the Global Voices Online citizen media network. She is also the author of Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom, which came out in 2012.

read full article at DW 

Facebook's Global Government Requests Report

[Today] we are releasing our Global Government Requests Report as part of a broader effort to reform government surveillance in countries around the world by providing more transparency.

 

This report, which covers the first half of 2015, provides information about the number of government requests we receive for data, as well as the number of pieces of content restricted for violating local law in countries around the world where we provide service. The report also includes updated information about the national security requests we received from US authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and through National Security Letters.

 

Overall, we continue to see an increase in content restrictions and government requests for data globally. The amount of content restricted for violating local law increased by 112% over the second half of 2014, to 20,568 pieces of content, up from 9,707. Government requests for account data increased across all countries by 18% over the same period, from 35,051 requests to 41,214. For more details, including a country-by-country breakdown of the data, please read the full report.

 

As we have emphasized before, Facebook does not provide any government with “back doors” or direct access to people’s data. We scrutinize each request we receive for legal sufficiency, whether from an authority in the U.S., Europe, or elsewhere. If a request appears to be deficient or overly broad, we push back hard and will fight in court, if necessary.

 

Over the last two years, we’ve regularly published information about the nature and extent of the requests we receive. To protect people’s information, we will continue to apply a rigorous approach to every government request we receive. We’ll also keep working with partners in industry and civil society to push governments around the world to reform surveillance in a way that protects their citizens’ safety and security while respecting their rights and freedoms.

read full article at  Facebook 

EU Justice Chief Vera Jourova Speaks on Negotiating New Safe Harbor Pact

In a ruling that has created legal uncertainty for thousands of companies, the European Union’s top court last month scrapped a trans-Atlantic data-transfer framework, known as Safe Harbor, which allowed firms to transfer Europeans’ personal data to U.S.-based servers. The European Court of Justice said that data is unprotected when it lands on American soil because U.S. intelligence services can get their hands on it.

 

The EU and U.S. have been racing to seal a deal on a new data-transfer framework that meets the court’s requirements but clarity for European officials over the extent to which U.S. national security services have access to Europeans’ data is still outstanding.

 

By Natalia Drozdiak and Stephen Fidler

read full article at  WSJ 

President Obama pitches Trans Pacific Partnership to eBay sellers

President Barack Obama is hoping to rally support from hundreds of thousands of eBay sellers as part of his campaign to promote the controversial Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement.

In a letter posted to eBay Mainstreet, President Obama implored eBay's online business community to research the benefits of the TPP and how it stands to "help you and small business owners like you across the country."

 

By Natalie Gagliordi

 

read full article at ZDNet 

 

 

Safe Harbour 2.0 framework begins to capsize as January deadline nears

Safe Harbour 2.0, currently being drawn up by the EU and US authorities, "will not provide a viable framework for future transfers of personal information" across the Atlantic according to a group of human rights and privacy organisations. In a letter sent to the European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Věra Jourová, and to the US Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker, the 20 EU and 14 US NGOs instead urge the politicians "to commit to a comprehensive modernization of privacy and data protection laws on both sides of the Atlantic."

 

Time is running out to come up with a replacement for the original Safe Harbour framework, which was effectively struck down by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in October. The important Article 29 Working Party, composed of representatives from the national data protection authorities in EU countries, warned that they would not wait for long before acting on the CJEU decision: "If by the end of January 2016, no appropriate solution is found with the US authorities and depending on the assessment of the transfer tools by the Working Party, EU data protection authorities are committed to take all necessary and appropriate actions, which may include coordinated enforcement actions."

By Andree Stephan

read full article at ArsTechnica

Edward Snowden and spread of encryption blamed after Paris terror attacks

As Paris reels from terrorist attacks that have claimed 129 lives, fierce blame for the carnage is being directed toward American whistleblower Edward Snowden and the spread of strong encryption catalyzed by his actions. 

 

The latest deadly terror attack is bringing the "crypto wars" further toward the spotlight. The crypto wars refers to a decades-long political battle over the legality and popularity of encryption around the world.
 

By Patrick Howell O'Neill
read full article at  DailyDot

Paris Attacks Fuel Debate Over Spying

WASHINGTON—A growing belief among intelligence officials that the terrorists behind Friday’s Paris attacks used encrypted communications is prompting a far-ranging re-examination of U.S. policy on data collection and surveillance.

 

Sen. Richard Burr (R., N.C.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday his panel will launch a review of encryption use. Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) introduced a bill to extend a sweeping telephone data-collection program due to expire at month’s end.

By Damian Paletta And Siobhan Hughes                  
read full article at  WSJ

Paris Attacks Help Build Case for Stiffer U.K. Snooping Rules

The terrorist attacks in Paris may make it harder for the technology industry and privacy advocates to resist proposed rules that would require Web, software and phone companies to aid in wide-ranging U.K. surveillance efforts.

 

"The attacks make it incredibly difficult to argue for individual privacy,” said Emily Taylor, an associate fellow at the London-based public policy think tank Chatham House. “That seems like a ridiculous thing to argue for when people are being mowed down on a night out."

By Jeremy Kahn   

read full article at Bloomberg

1st National Conference on Mass Media and Communications Law

Intellectual Property, Mass Media, Electronic Communications and Data Protection

"recent developments and prospects"

 

Athens, 22 and 23 May 2015

Organized by the team of editors of DiMEE (Media and Communications Law Review)  

read full article at  https://www.facebook.com/events/433859490106632/ 

Why we may need third-party cookies after all

The third-party cookie -- also referred to as the HTTP cookie, web cookie, internet cookie, or browser cookie -- has been much maligned in recent years. Consumer privacy groups and industry bodies have rightly raised concerns around consumers' online privacy, data, and security, and have advocated for its demise. This has led to developments such as increased regulation -- like the European Union's ePrivacy directive -- as well as efforts to development into alternative tracking methods led by major players such as Google and Facebook.

 Pundits have been predicting the end of the cookie in the EU for years, and the ePrivacy directive has provided needed clarification on privacy and use in those countries. However, the third-party cookie is still employed in the EU, and no viable alternative has yet to emerge.

 Make no mistake: Consumers deserve to have their privacy respected, and need to be given notice and a choice as to how their data is used. A few recent faux pas -- such as Verizon's use of super cookies and AT&T's proposed plan to charge consumers separate rates for not tracking their internet behavior -- have caused the public to again question the value of the cookie. However, before we do away with it in the name of privacy, let's examine the benefits -- there's much to be thankful for when it comes to all that this small text file provides. I would argue that, without it, much of the richness and variety of the internet might not exist.

read full article at iMedia Connection

How can privacy survive in the era of the internet of things?

Amazon’s new Dash button, which will order replacement products at the touch of a button, might well usher us further towards the internet of things (IoT), in which a variety of connected devices talk to each other, quietly doing our bidding.

The next step: household appliances that re-order consumables automatically, without the need for a button at all. But what does this universe of connected devices mean for our privacy?

 Companies have been talking about the IoT for years. There are many possible visions of it. Some think it’s about your smartwatch talking to your car, while your fridge independently talks to the grocery store to order you some more milk.

read full article at The Guardian

Do not Track: an online, interactive documentary about who’s watching you

 “I know right now that this is the country you live in,” says a seemingly omnipotent narrator as an image of the Queen flashes up on my screen. “I know that it is a nice morning. I know that you’re on a Mac.”

I’m watching the first episode of Do Not Track – and it’s a discombobulating experience. An online interactive documentary, the show aims to reveal how you, yes you, are being followed online by a host of companies. And it’s personal. Both the narrator’s identity and language are determined by your location, deduced from your IP address, while data gleaned by inviting you to log on to Facebook, take a survey or enter the address of an oft-visited website reveal how trackers deduce not only who you are and what you like, but use that information to shape your online world.

“Each viewer is going to have a different experience as they watch it,” explains the series’ creator and director Brett Gaylor. “Privacy is a very complex issue and it can be abstract for people so we wanted to explore ways that we could have that hit home – literally.”

read full article at The Guardian

EFF to UN: You Need a Privacy Watchdog

EFF joined more than sixty civil liberties organizations and public interest groups from across the world yesterday in calling upon the world's governments to support the creation of a United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy.

The special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council and serve in their personal capacities. The establishment of a special rapporteur on the right to privacy is a key step that the United Nations can take to ensure that the right to privacy is given meaning and practical application in the light of technological developments. A special rapporteur would play a critical role in developing common understandings and furthering a considered and substantive interpretation of the right to privacy in a variety of settings.

The right to privacy is one of the few civil and political rights without specialist attention from a United Nations mandate holder. Privacy is an independent right, enshrined in a variety of international human rights treaties. There is a pressing need to better articulate the content of this right as part of international human rights law and produce guides on its interpretation, particularly as modern technologies are enabling communications surveillance—and consequent interference with this right—on an unprecedented and damaging scale.

read full article at EFF

Companies should prepare for the EU’s forthcoming Data Protection Regulation

An increase in cyber security attacks across commercial enterprises and service providers, and a consumer market wary of data privacy and protections, provide a backdrop for the forthcoming data privacy rule changes. Companies need to get ready fast, according to consultant Ryan Rubin.

Ryan Rubin is a Managing Director responsible for Security and Privacy IT Consulting at Protiviti, a global consulting firm.

As the European Commission works towards unifying data protection under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it is imperative that IT professionals familiarise themselves and take the necessary steps to reduce their organisation's exposure to data privacy risks.

read full article at EurActive

TTIP: Transatlantic trade deal text leaked to BBC

A leaked draft of what the European Union wants excluded from a new trade deal with the United States has been obtained by the BBC.

The document describes itself as the EU's "initial offer" in negotiations over the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP).

It includes the wording that UK ministers have said will protect the NHS from privatisation.

read full article at BBC 

 

Obama says that Europeans are using privacy rules to protect their firms against U.S. competition. Is he right? (regulatory imperialism... the new enemy!)

In an interview with the tech site ReCode, President Obama has suggested that European distrust of U.S. tech firms has base motivations. In his description:

We have owned the internet. Our companies have created it, expanded it, perfected it in ways that they can’t compete. And oftentimes what is portrayed as high-minded positions on issues sometimes is just designed to carve out some of their commercial interests.

He’s responding to a question about differences between how Europe and the United States deal with privacy. The United States does not have any strong comprehensive regulations covering how the private sector deals with your personal data. Under U.S. law, a few kinds of data (e.g., weirdly, video rental records) are heavily protected, but large categories of personal data get very little protection. If a company promises not to use your data in certain ways and then breaks its promises, the FTC can go after it. But if it doesn’t make any specific promises, or if it reserves the right (as many companies do) to change its mind, there is very little protection.

read full article at WashingtonPost

Google Agrees to Spot Checks by Italian Privacy Regulators (what a nice idea!)

Google’s latest agreement with a European privacy regulator includes spot checks at its U.S. headquarters to monitor how the Internet giant is complying with an order to improve its privacy policy, add new opt-outs for targeted advertising, and disclose how long it keeps users’ data.

The Italian data-privacy authority Friday outlined a process for Google to comply with the country’s privacy laws and an order imposed on the company in July. Google has until Jan. 15, 2016 to comply.

A spokesman for the Italian authority said this is the first time in Europe that Google will be subject to regular checks to monitor progress. The regulator will get quarterly updates from Google and the ability to send a privacy officer for “on-the-spot checks” at Google’s Mountain View, Calif., offices. The regulator hasn’t decided yet how often it will visit the campus, the spokesman said.

read full article at WSJ

AT&T is putting a price on privacy. That is outrageous

Imagine if the postal service started offering discount shipping in exchange for permission to scan every letter you receive and then target you with junk mail based on the contents of your personal mail.

One of the largest telecommunications companies in America, AT&T, is doing just that for customers of its super-fast gigabit broadband service, which is rolling out in select cities. Though a few months ago, it dropped the use of an undeletable “supercookie” that tracked subscribers’ web browsing activity, AT&T reportedly plans to track and monetize its broadband customers’ internet activity – “webpages you visit, the time you spend on each, the links or ads you see and follow, and the search terms you enter” – to deliver targeted “ads online, via email or through direct mail”.

The tracking and ad targeting associated with the gigabit service cannot be avoided using browser privacy settings: as AT&T explained, the program “works independently of your browser’s privacy settings regarding cookies, do-not-track and private browsing.” In other words, AT&T is performing deep packet inspection, a controversial practice through which internet service providers, by virtue of their privileged position, monitor all the internet traffic of their subscribers and collect data on the content of those communications.

read full article at TheGuardian

Public has no faith in (UK) press regulator, says children’s privacy campaigner

Children’s privacy campaigner Hannah Weller has said the public has no faith in the new press regulator, which she said acted in just the same way as the discredited regime it replaced.

Weller and her husband, musician Paul Weller, won a high court battle with Mail Online over its publication of seven unpixellated photographs of their children last year.

She told MPs on Tuesday that nothing had changed under the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso), which replaced the Press Complaints Commission in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal and subsequent Leveson inquiry.

read full article at TheGuardian

Gemalto hack probe finds no massive privacy leak

A Dutch SIM-maker allegedly targeted by British and U.S. spying agencies said it believes there was a hacking operation, but that it didn't result in a massive privacy leak.

Gemalto, which makes SIM cards used in cellphones and credit cards, said an internal investigation gave it reasonable grounds to believe an operation by the U.S. National Security Agency and its British counterpart Government Communications Headquarters "probably happened."

The operation was reported last week on the website The Intercept using documents supplied by Edward Snowden.

read full article at USAtoday

In Privacy Update, Reddit Tightens Restrictions on Nude Photos (so long user self-regulation...)

For nearly a decade, Reddit, the huge online message board, has been known for its freewheeling stance on letting its users govern themselves. 

That has resulted in an outpouring of user-generated content — for better or, sometimes, for worse — that attracts nearly 160 million regular users to the site.

Now, Reddit is starting to change its views, if only ever so slightly. Reddit announced a change to its privacy policy on Tuesday that prohibits posting nude photos or videos of people engaged in sex acts without their prior consent to have it posted.

read full article at NYT

Facebook privacy policy slated by Belgian data watchdog

Facebook has been accused of breaking European data-protection laws, in a report written for Belgium's privacy watchdog.

The social network placed "too much burden" on users to navigate its complex settings, said the report.

Also, it said, people were not told enough about how data Facebook gathered on them was used in adverts.

read full article at BBC

Tripadvisor fined by Italian competition regulator

Italy's competition watchdog has fined travel website Tripadvisor €500,000 (£392,000) for publishing misleading information in its reviews.

The regulator began a seven-month investigation following a complaint from a consumer group and hotel owners.

Tripadvisor was accused of presenting its reviews as "authentic and genuine" despite not taking measures to avoid contributors publishing false opinions

read full article at BBC

Commission seeks views on spectrum use for wireless broadband

The European Commission is launching a public consultation on how to use the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) spectrum (the 700 Megahertz (MHz) band) most effectively in the coming decades. The Commission is seeking views on the options proposed by Pascal Lamy, in September 2014

At the moment, the 700 MHz band is mostly used for broadcasting and wireless microphones. The broadband and telecoms sectors are both keen to secure the future use of this highly sought-after band for deploying new wireless and digital services The consultation will run until 12 April 2015 and will help the Commission define a long-term strategy for the UHF band.

read full article at Europa

mHealth in Europe: Preparing the ground – consultation results published

Privacy and security, patient safety, a clear legal framework and better evidence on cost-effectiveness are all required to help mobile Health care (“mHealth”) flourish in Europe, according to the responses to a European Commission public consultation.

211 separate responses from public authorities, healthcare providers, patients' organisations and web entrepreneurs, inside and outside the EU, gave feedback on eleven issues related to the uptake of mHealth in the EU. While recent statistics confirm that national and EU funding initiatives are bearing fruit and that Europe is set to become the largest market by 2018, responses indicated that more remains to be done so that EU entrepreneurs can effectively access this booming market.

read full article at Europa

T58/13 OPAP state aid case

The EU General Court ruled on appeals by six Greek casinos against a Commission decision of October 2012 finding that the Greek gambling operator OPAP's exclusive rights and exclusive Video Lottery Terminal license contain no state aid. The GC dismissed the appeals and entirely upheld the Commission's findings.

read full article at Europa

Commission opens in-depth investigation into joint venture for online music licensing between collecting societies PRSfM, STIM and GEMA

The Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether the proposed creation of a joint venture between three collective rights management organisations (CMOs) in the online licensing of musical works is in line with the EU Merger Regulation. The CMOs contributing to the joint venture are PRSfM of the UK, STIM of Sweden and GEMA of Germany. CMOs manage the copyrights of authors, performers and writers of musical works. 

They also grant licences on their behalf and redistribute the royalties collected from the exploitation of their copyrights. The Commission’s preliminary investigation indicated that the combination of the music repertoires currently controlled by each of PRSfM, STIM and GEMA could result in higher prices and worsened commercial conditions for digital service providers (DSPs) in the EEA. This could lead, ultimately, to higher prices and less choice for European consumers of digital music. DSPs provide online services to final customers, such as music downloading or streaming and to operate on the market they need licences delivered by CMOs. 

 Moreover, the Commission has concerns that the transaction may reduce competition in the EEA for certain copyright administration services since it would reduce the number of meaningful market players from four to two. 

read full article at Europa 

Commission's competition services publish policy brief on antitrust damages actions

The new Directive 2014/104/EU on antitrust damages actions makes it a lot easier for victims of antitrust violations to claim compensation. Among other things, it will give victims easier access to evidence they need to prove the damage suffered and more time to make their claims.

read full article at Europa

Obama speaks on promoting Community Broadband

President Obama travels to Cedar Falls, Iowa to talk about the importance of expanding access to high-speed broadband Internet

see video at Broadband4Europe

You could be prosecuted if your broadband interferes with radio signals

Thousands of homeowners could face prosecution if their broadband persistently interferes with radio signals, under Ofcom proposals published after lobbying by intelligence agency GCHQ.

The Government agency has become increasingly concerned in recent years about "power line" networking equipment. This allows people to use the mains wiring in their homes to transmit data, as an alternative to a Wi-Fi network, and has been distributed to BT and TalkTalk customers to connect their television set-top boxes to broadband.

Ofcom, the communications watchdog, published a consultation on Monday on new regulations that would allow its officials to issue enforcement notices to shut down such networks when the electromagnetic radiation they can emit interferes with radio signals. Those who fail to comply will face criminal prosecution.

read full article at The Telegraph

EU Telecoms Bosses, Oettinger Meet on Broadband Investment

On Tuesday, the European Commission published its proposals for a hefty  investment package for the continent. Now comes the tricky bit of getting sufficient private and public money to turn the fund’s €21 billion capital base into the promised €315 billion in new investments – and deciding what to spend it on.

High up on the European Union’s wishlist is new broadband infrastructure and Commissioner for the Digital Economy Günther Oettinger isn’t wasting any time. On Friday morning he will host, at short notice, a roundtable* meeting on how to get Europe building (more) super-fast Internet. Various senior executives from telecommunications companies will attend, along with representatives from trade associations, the cable industry, banks and potential investors.

An EU official confirmed that the meeting is taking place, following talks Tuesday with representatives of public authorities.

read full article at WSJ

BT's £12.5bn mobile ambitions hit by new broadband price controls

BT’s mobile ambitions suffered a blow on Thursday, as regulators indicated they are likely to factor in its £12.5bn takeover of EE in new price controls designed to curb its dominance of the superfast broadband market.

The warning came as part of a new Ofcom test of whether BT abuses its ownership of the national telecoms infrastructure to undermine competition on superfast broadband from Sky and TalkTalk.

Both companies buy wholesale access to BT’s fibre-optic network to provide superfast broadband to their own retail subscribers. Currently nearly three quarters of superfast broadband connections on the BT network are retailed by BT itself.

read full article at  The Telegraph

Top 5 Tech – All you need to know for the Latvian EU Presidency

In this special briefing, leading journalist Jennifer Baker picks out the top 5 tech issues that will be discussed by the European institutions under the Latvian EU Presidency.

• On the top of the agenda is the Data Protection Regulation: Latvian presidency will be pushing for a Council position
• Copyright reform: Pirate Party MEP Julia Reda is reviewing the current Infosoc Directive; digital Commissioner Günther Oettinger is due to present his copyright reform
• Google case: possible Android case and more interest expected in legislating apps in general, not least in-app purchases
• Latvian Presidency says it wants a compromise on the Telecoms Package, however some concerns are raised around the high quality services, which can mean differentiated services provoking fears over Net Neutrality
• Under the Latvian Presidency of the Council we can expect to see an ongoing debate on surveillance and security, particularly in light of the Snowden allegations

read full article at viEUs

Article 29 Data Protection Working Party: "Je suis Charlie" should not affect protection of privacy

Today more than ever, European citizens need to show that our societies will stand strong on their common values. These values are fundamental democratic assets, which have developed and matured over centuries and must not be surrendered, whatever the circumstances.
 

The protection of private life and of personal data is a key part of this democratic heritage, including because it conditions the respect of other fundamental freedoms such as freedom of speech or freedom of movement. It is a principle that is neither absolute, nor self-centered as it must be combined with the respect of other such freedoms, public
security requirements and the need to foster innovation.
 

The current situation obviously makes it more necessary than ever to ensure that an appropriate balance is struck between these different, but not contradictory objectives.

read full article at Europa

Police Drones Over Berkeley Trigger Backlash

A move by police agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area to deploy drones for the first time is provoking a backlash from leaders and activists who fear the surveillance will allow authorities to peer into private lives.

“Berkeley and the Bay Area have a long history of political discussion, protests and debate, and there’s a real concern around the use of these drones under those circumstances, and the broader privacy issues,” said Jesse Arreguin, a Berkeley city council member who represents the downtown area near the University of California’s flagship campus.

UC Berkeley, the birthplace of the free speech movement of the 1960s and a hotbed of political activism, would be among places subject to the police use of drones as local law-enforcement agencies pursue the new technology to monitor crime in progress.

read full article at Bloomberg

Obama calls for data breach notification law, privacy bill of rights

U.S. President Barack Obama will push Congress to pass a law requiring companies that are victims of data breaches to notify affected consumers within 30 days and a second law that gives consumers more control over their digital data, he said.

Obama will call for a national data breach notification law and a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights in ID theft and privacy initiatives in his State of the Union speech Jan. 20, he said Monday at the Federal Trade Commission.

Neither of those proposals is a new one—the White House first called for a consumer privacy bill of rights in February 2012 and has backed a national breach notification law for years—but Congress has failed to pass those proposals. With a growing number of data breaches coming to light, it’s important for Congress to protect Internet users from a “direct threat” by hackers, Obama said.


read full article at PC World

David Cameron seeks cooperation of US president over encryption crackdown

David Cameron is to urge Barack Obama to pressure internet firms such as Twitter and Facebook to do more to cooperate with Britain’s intelligence agencies as they seek to track the online activities of Islamist extremists.

As he becomes the first European leader to meet the president after the multiple shootings in Paris last week, the prime minister will seek to win Obama’s support for his plans to secure a new legal framework to deny terrorists a “safe space”.

The prime minister arrives after he proposed earlier this week that British intelligence agencies have the power to break the encrypted communications of suspected terrorists and insisting that the likes of Twitter and Facebook do more to cooperate with Britain’s GCHQ eavesdropping centre.


read full article at The Guardian

Google launches challenge to Max Mosley's privacy bid

Google has asked the High Court to throw out legal action being taken by ex-Formula 1 boss Max Mosley.

Mr Mosley wants Google to block photos of him at a sex party first printed in the now-defunct News of the World, which he successfully sued in 2008.

He is suing the internet firm for breaches of the Data Protection Act and misusing private information.

read full article at BBC

Privacy Is the New Antitrust: Launching the FTC Casebook

On Monday, presaging his sixth State of the Union Address, U.S. President Barack Obama visited the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) bearing a message of sweeping privacy reform. Coincidentally, it was almost exactly 101 years ago that President Woodrow Wilson, in his January 20, 1914, State of the Union Address, announced his antitrust initiative to Congress, declaring, “We are all agreed that ‘private monopoly is indefensible and intolerable.’” The result of that speech was the passage of the FTC and Clayton Acts of 1914, which led to the establishment of a new agency dedicated to protecting consumers and competition from deceptive or unfair trade practices.

Now, 80 years after the last visit by a president to the FTC—Obama quipped, “you would think one of the presidents would come into the building by accident”—Obama’s visit and announcement heralds the arrival of privacy on the central stage of the national policy agenda.

read full article at IAPP

New counterterrorism bill to override certain privacy limits

The federal government believes Canada is vulnerable to a significant terrorist attack because of legislative gaps that hinder and, in some cases prevent, federal agencies from sharing information about potential threats.

Government sources tell CBC News that legislation to be tabled when Parliament resumes later this month will provide national security agencies with explicit authority to obtain and share information that is now subject to privacy limits.

The legislation is the centrepiece of a package of wide-ranging security measures to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

read full article at CBC News

EU countries that set data retention rules must ensure they comply with e-Privacy Directive, says new legal opinion

The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) ruled last April that specific EU rules on data retention by telecoms providers, set out under the EU Data Retention Directive, disproportionately infringed on privacy rights enjoyed by EU citizens.

In its opinion, the European Parliament's Legal Services unit said EU countries, since the CJEU's judgment, have had the option of either repealing their own laws on data retention or maintaining them. However, it said that should countries choose to maintain the rules then those rules must adhere to the e-Privacy Directive.

"It is … clear that, as a result of the invalidity of the Data Retention Directive, Article 15(1) of the e-Privacy Directive is … applicable to the national measures dealing with data retention in the electronic communications sector," the Legal Services unit said, according to the leaked document published by civil liberties group Access (27-page / 3.85MB PDF).


read full article at Out Law