Introduction As many countries reach the second stage of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, privacy protections may be relaxed under certain circumstances. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) issued a statement on the processing of personal data in this period of time, and several national data protection authorities have issued COVID-19 specific guidelines and … Continue Reading
On 20 December 2019 the Dutch Supreme Court delivered its judgment in the case of Urgenda against the Dutch State. In 2013, the NGO Urgenda started a civil law procedure against the Dutch State for “knowingly exposing its own citizens to danger” by not taking sufficient measures to prevent climate change and therefore not preventing … Continue Reading
Ursula von der Leyen, the new president of the European Commission, has called for ‘new proposals to ensure Europe is more resilient to extraterritorial sanctions by third countries and to ensure that the sanctions imposed by the EU are properly enforced…throughout its financial system.’ See September 2019 Mission Letter from President von der Leyen to Valdis Dombrovskis, … Continue Reading
The substantial gains made by the ruling UK Conservative Party in the general election on 12 December 2019 mean that, barring the unexpected, the UK will leave the EU on 31 January 2020. The Conservative government now has sufficient majority to drive parliamentary approval of the draft withdrawal agreement renegotiated with the EU by UK … Continue Reading
In a historic decision issued 24 September 2019, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, acted unlawfully when he advised the Queen to prorogue, or suspend, the UK Parliament for five weeks, until 14 October 2019. The effect of the very clear and unanimous decision of the 11 Supreme Court judges … Continue Reading
Our last GT Alert on Brexit quoted the saying, “a week is a long time in politics”. New Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson has found that a mere 72 hours is an eternity as he seeks to break the political impasse on the terms of the UK’s exit from the European Union – so far, … Continue Reading
Brexit has driven fault lines through British politics as seen at no time since the 1680s. Fervent ‘leavers’ and fervent ‘remainers’ can be found in both of the main political parties, although most favour various compromise options in between. This is reflected in the composition of the UK Parliament and has resulted in an impasse, … Continue Reading
On July 29, 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) found that a website operator using a social media plugin is a joint controller with the social media company providing the plugin and can be held jointly liable in relation to such processing activities. Although the case was decided under the Privacy … Continue Reading
The UK’s new prime minister, Boris Johnson, will take office on 24 July 2019, just over three months before the UK is due to leave the EU, on 31 October 2019. When the UK voted to leave the EU in June 2016, few predicted that Brexit would not yet be achieved over three years later. … Continue Reading
Introduction Modern technologies and personal data are increasingly important for real estate businesses. Robotics, Wi-Fi tracking, augmented and virtual reality, sensor technology, and the Internet of Things (e.g., a physical smart object in an internet-based structure) are some of the technologies being used. Through such modern technologies, a landlord has access to a large amount … Continue Reading
On March 26, the parliament of the European Union approved the “Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market”, one of the most heavily disputed legislative acts in EU history. The Directive now has to be approved by the member states in the European Council, which is usually a formality (and will possibly happen on … Continue Reading
While many are still digesting the changes brought about by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a new privacy regulation is already on its way. The Regulation Concerning the Respect for Private Life and the Protection of Personal Data in Electronic Communications – in short, the ePrivacy Regulation – is currently a draft under … Continue Reading
In a period of ongoing modernization of European legislation concerning the European Digital Single Market, the regulation of online copyright is a continuing concern. The proposed new copyright directive (‘the Copyright Directive’) would bring far-reaching changes to European copyright law and has been heavily debated by the member states over the last two years. It … Continue Reading
It is now less than two months until 29 March 2019, the date set for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. At this late stage, the terms of the UK’s withdrawal have still not been settled, and the Brexit issue remains clouded in uncertainty. As a result of a vote in the UK Parliament 29 … Continue Reading
