Human rights / mass surveillance / safe harbour / Surveillance

CJEU rules EU-Canada PNR Agreement incompatible with EU Charter rights to privacy and personal data protection

EU data protection/privacy laws continue to keep this international Air Passenger data agreement ‘grounded from taking flight’, but what effect could the decision have on similar data agreements already concluded with the EU? On 26 July, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) declared that the EU-Canada Passenger Name Record (PNR) Agreement is incompatible with EU … Continue reading

Data retention / Data transfer / Human rights / Law enforcement / safe harbour / Security / Surveillance

CJEU Advocate General opines on the compatibility of EU-Canada PNR Agreement with EU Charter rights to privacy and personal data protection

We’ve heard it before, and we’ll hear it again… ‘How can interference with fundamental EU rights to privacy and personal data protection be justified when it comes to mass-automated data processing?’ In other words, to what extent will the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights keep this international agreement grounded before it can take flight? Earlier … Continue reading

Data protection / Law enforcement / Security / Surveillance / terrorism

New Air Passenger Data Processing Rules to Apply from 2018

Ready, steady, go… Clock countdown formally starts for the reform of three major pieces of EU data legislation! It’s finally final – three separate pieces of data privacy-related legislation in the EU will be coming into effect soon: As anticipated by Sophie last month here, the final version of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) … Continue reading

Data retention / interception / Security / Surveillance

UK Codes of Practice Enacted to Develop Regulation of State Surveillance Powers

Law and policy regarding the capture of communications data continues to dominate the headlines for 2016 The European Data Protection Day, and the equivalent US/Canadian Data Privacy Day, coincided last week on 28 January. Their purpose – this year in the 10th edition of their kind, corresponding to the anniversary of the opening for signature … Continue reading

Access to data / Breach notification / Data protection / Data retention / General Data Protection Regulation / Law enforcement / Personal data / Privacy / Privacy impact assessment / Surveillance

Article 29 WP and the draft directive on the processing of personal data by law enforcement agencies: has Article 29 WP been heard?

Last month, the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) of the Council of the EU  the compromise texts agreed with the European Parliament on data protection reform. As a reminder, the reform is a legislative package concerning two legislative instruments: the second of which discussed here (and far less catching the press headlines than the General Data … Continue reading

Intelligence and security agencies / interception / Personal data / Surveillance / terrorism

Bulk Personal Datasets and the ‘Spectre’ of Pervasive Surveillance Concerns Back in the Spotlight with the Investigatory Powers Bill

Are proposals to introduce oversights over state powers to obtain, analyse, and retain mass sets of personal details sufficient to alleviate concerns where they include data about individuals unconnected to investigations? Much has been written about the UK government’s proposed new Investigatory Powers Bill (IPB) since it was published for consultation by the Home Office, … Continue reading

Data protection / Internet intermediaries / Privacy / Surveillance

Weber, DRI and Schrems: so what are “measures of mass surveillance”? And what should we do with them? A tale of 2 Courts

While the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in its recent judgment Schrems v Data Protection Commissioner (discussed here), does not mention the words “measures of mass surveillance” it states that it is concerned about measures “authoris[ing], on a generalised basis, storage of all the personal data of all the persons”. By way … Continue reading