20 Dezember 2022
The Right to be Forgotten in 2022
On 8 December 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its latest landmark judgment on the ‘right to be forgotten’. Despite the largely incremental character, the continuing legal manifestation of the right to erasure/be forgotten/de-referencing raises more fundamental questions on the governance of the datafication of society in the EU. Continue reading >>
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09 November 2022
Compensation for non-material damages under the GDPR
On 6 October 2022, Advocate General Campos Sánchez-Bordona delivered his Opinion in case C‑300/21. At stake is the interpretation of Article 82 of the General Data Protection Regulation, which provides compensation for non-material damages. The Opinion opts for a strict interpretation of this provision, but a broader reading is possible, and even desirable, in light of the GDPR’s objectives and the many barriers impeding effective enforcement of data protection rights. Continue reading >>21 Oktober 2022
Towards a data-subject-friendly interpretation of Article 82 GDPR
Under the GDPR, Article 82 is the only instrument to claim compensation resulting from data protection infringements. So far, it has not been interpreted by the CJEU. To date, nine preliminary references on the interpretation of Article 82 have been made by national courts. On 6 October 2022, Advocate General Sánchez-Bordona delivered his Opinion in one of them. Since it will be the first CJEU judgment on this subject, it will have a profound impact on the further development of EU data protection law, in particular, its private enforcement. Continue reading >>18 Oktober 2022
Digital Autonomy in Contractual Relationships
It is rare for two Advocates General of the European Court of Justice to differ on the interpretation of a fundamental legal act of the European Union. This is what recently occurred with regard to the General Data Protection Regulation. Continue reading >>
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18 Mai 2022
GDPR Collective Litigation Against Facebook
The recent CJEU Case C-319/20, Meta Platforms Ireland provides insights on the interpretation of Article 80(2) of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (GDPR), which regulates representative actions in the data protection field. The Court of Justice specified that actions protecting general interests fall under the scope of Article 80(2) GDPR, but leaves the task unmoved to reconcile this provision with the Directive on Representative Actions (DRA). Continue reading >>
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22 November 2021
Lloyd v Google: towards a more restrictive approach on privacy protection in the UK?
The UK Supreme Court has delivered its much-awaited judgment in Lloyd v Google - a highly significant case for the development of privacy law in the United Kingdom. The Supreme Court paints an overly thin picture of data privacy and raises important concerns about possible divergence from EU standards in the future. Continue reading >>
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03 September 2021
Enforcement of the DSA and the DMA
In trying to overcome the cross-border enforcement’s pitfalls of the GDPR, the Commission’s proposals for a Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act are largely expanding the Commission’s enforcement powers. Unfortunately, what is touted as a solution for cross-border enforcement issues, might lead to new difficulties and challenges due to the risks of the centralization of power with the Commission. Continue reading >>
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17 Juni 2021
A Hidden Revolution
European data protection law has become (in-)famously known as one of the main tools for both the European legislature and the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to push the boundaries of European integration. The most recent decision of the Court in Case C-645/19, 15 June 2021 – Facebook Ireland continues this well-established tradition. What may at first glance appear as a rather technical ruling might initiate a hidden revolution and lead to an unprecedented step for the ever-closer integration of the EU’s legal order. Continue reading >>
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30 November 2020
The Sorrows of Scraping for Science
Access to data is an overall challenge for researchers when investigating social media platforms' content moderation policies and practices. Researchers need empirical evidence to ground their arguments and public interest research. Platforms have not only not providing data, but are, in fact, further restricting access. Both platforms and governments should make an effort to improve on the availability of data for research, and, to this end, clarify the law in this space. Continue reading >>
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15 April 2020
Data crossing borders
The cross-border sharing of personal data to combat coronavirus raises questions under the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (the GDPR) - two of which will be dealt with here. The first question is whether EU data protection law is flexible enough to allow the international sharing of personal data to fight the pandemic. Secondly, data protection law has traditionally been shaped by pivotal events in history (think of the effect that the reaction to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 had on data protection law), and one can ask what implications the crisis will have on the future development of data transfer regulation. Continue reading >>
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