On 31 December 2021, the restricted committee of the French Data Protection Supervisory Authority (“CNIL”) (i) fined Facebook Ireland 60 million euros and Google a total of 150 million euros (i.e., 90 million euros for Google LLC and 60 million euros for Google Ireland Limited) for failing to allow the users of facebook.com, google.fr and …
Authors: Heidi Waem and Simon Verschaeve Recently, the European Center for Digital Rights (better known as noyb), founded by privacy activist Max Schrems, announced a new initiative that focuses on compliance of cookie banners in Europe. Alongside the launch of the campaign, noyb reported that it issued more than 500 draft complaints to the owners …
EU: Second wave of noyb complaints targets cookie banners Read More »
Every year, the French supervisory authority (the “CNIL”) publishes its key priorities for upcoming dawn-raids. In 2021, more than 50% of the CNIL’s dawn-raids will focus on: (i) websites cybersecurity, (ii) health data protection and (ii) cookies. 1. Websites cybersecurity Website security incidents are among the most common non-compliances identified by the CNIL during its …
The CNIL’s key priorities for upcoming dawn-raids in 2021 Read More »
The Belgian Data Protection Authority issued a fine of 1% of the annual turnover of the company for not acting in compliance with the cookie rules, despite the corrective actions undertaken by the company. The DPA confirmed that by issuing this sanction, it wanted to set an example, warning all companies that cookie compliance is a “must have”.
Since the European Commission unveiled a proposal for an e-Privacy Regulation in January 2017, this new piece of legislation, aiming to adapt rules on electronic communications and cookies, has undergone many iterations. The European Parliament has left its version untouched since October 2017, and in the meantime the Council of the EU has regularly published …
…and indicates actions companies may take now. By Wiebke Jakob & Verena Grentzenberg At the beginning of February, the Bavarian Data Protection Authority (DPA) participated in the Safer Internet Day (SID) 2019 and searched 40 websites of large companies based in Bavaria. Under the theme of “Together for a better internet”, the European Commission had …
On 7 March 2019, the Dutch Supervisory Authority (“S.A.”) created quite some buzz in the online Dutch (advertising) industry: websites that only give visitors access to their site if they agree to tracking cookies (or similar technologies) do not comply with the GDPR. This also means that the so-called cookie walls that are placed on …
The French Council of State affirmed the EUR 25,000 fine imposed by the CNIL on Editions Croque Futur (challenges.fr) for non-compliance with French data protection law, and in particular cookie requirements. The facts go back to 2014-2015 when the French data protection authority (the CNIL) found out that French company Editions, Croque Futur, publisher of …
FRANCE: Website publisher fined for violation of the cookie requirements Read More »
By Patrick Van Eecke and Kaat Van Delm The Belgian data protection authority (“Privacy Commission”) has released its annual report for the year 2015 (available in Dutch and French). The Privacy Commission provides an overview of the most important cases, projects and statistics summarising their activities in 2015. 1. Numbers The annual report includes statistics …
Online advertising has become increasingly sophisticated in recent years, progressing from text, to flash animations, to auto-playing videos. In response, increasing numbers of web users have turned to ad-blocking software to de-clutter and speed up their browsing experience. However, the use of such software is obviously bad news for advertisers and for site owners, …
EUROPE: Does the use of ad-blocker detectors breach the e-Privacy Directive? Read More »
