Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On August 24, 2023, 12 data protection authorities published a joint statement calling for the protection of personal data from unlawful data scraping. The statement was issued by the authorities of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Hong Kong, Jersey, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the UK. The joint statement reminds organizations that personal data that is publicly accessible is still subject to data protection and privacy laws in most jurisdictions, and highlights the risks facing such data, including increased risk of social engineering or phishing attacks, identify fraud, and unwanted direct marketing or spam.

On August 27, 2021, the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (“Swiss DPA”) announced that the new EU Standard Contractual Clauses (the “SCCs”) may be relied on to legitimize transfers of personal data from Switzerland to countries without an adequate level of data protection, provided that the necessary amendments and adaptations are made for use under Swiss data protection law.

On September 8, 2020, the Swiss Data Protection Authority (the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner, “FDPIC”), announced in a position statement that it no longer considers the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield adequate for the purposes of transfers of personal data from Switzerland to the U.S. This decision follows the July 2020 ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) in the Schrems II case, which invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield for EU-U.S. transfers of personal data. This ruling was considered as part of the annual review of the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework by the FDPIC since, as Switzerland is not a member of the EU, it is not bound by the CJEU ruling.

On August 17, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission announced proposed settlements with 13 companies over allegations that they misled consumers by falsely claiming to be Safe Harbor certified when their certifications had lapsed or they had never been certified at all.

Hunton & Williams Insurance Litigation & Counseling partner Lon Berk reports:

An Israeli security firm recently uncovered a hacking operation that had been active for more than a decade. Over that period, hackers breached government servers, banks and corporations in Germany, Switzerland and Austria by using over 800 phony front companies (which all had the same IP address) to deliver unique malware to victims’ systems. The hackers purchased digital security certificates for each phony company to make the sites appear legitimate to visitors. Data reportedly stolen included studies on biological warfare and nuclear physics, plans for key infrastructure, and bank account and credit card data.

On June 28, 2013, the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (“FDPIC”) issued its 20th annual Report of Activities (the “Report”), highlighting the FDPIC’s main activities during the period from April 2012 to March 2013. The Report is available in French and in German, and the FDPIC also has prepared a summary of the Report in English.

On December 19, 2012, the European Commission announced its formal recognition of personal data protection in New Zealand. The European Commission approved New Zealand’s status as a country that provides “adequate protection”  of personal data under the European Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC. This determination means that personal information from Europe may flow freely to New Zealand.  Although the law in New Zealand has been modernized over the years, it is not new.  New Zealand will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of its data protection law in 2013. Furthermore, New Zealand has been very active in the development of international standards at the OECD and APEC, and has participated in initiatives such as the Global Accountability Project. New Zealand’s request to be deemed adequate has been pending for several years. This determination follows the positive Opinion of the Article 29 Working Party issued on April 4, 2011, concerning the level of protection under New Zealand’s law.

On November 2-3, 2011, Mexico’s Federal Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (“IFAI”) will host the 33rd International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners in Mexico City. Marty Abrams, President of the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams LLP, is the chairman of the Conference’s advisory panel and principal advisor to Conference organizers on program content. Hunton & Williams is a proud sponsor of the event which will feature Hunton representatives as speakers or moderators on multiple panels and plenary sessions, including the following:

Austrian DPA Gives Green Light Subject to Conditions

On April 21, 2011, the Austrian Data Protection Commission (“Austrian DPA”) published its decision allowing Google to register its Google Street View application on the Austrian DPA’s data processing register.  As part of the registration procedure, Google agreed to blur images of faces and license plates prior to publishing them on the Internet, and to provide information to the public about the right to object to publication of certain images.  Further, the Austrian DPA required Google to:

On January 8, 2010, the Swiss Federal Administrative Court (“Bundesverwaltungsgericht”) published a decision that declared the transfer of banking data to U.S. law enforcement authorities by the Swiss bank UBS to be illegal.  In late 2009, UBS transferred the data of over 300 customers suspected of evading U.S. taxes to the U.S. Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service following an order issued by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (“Finma”) pursuant to an agreement Finma reached with the U.S. authorities.