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In the second part of a two-part series, Simon Davies examines the ongoing controversy over arrangements for exchange of information and judicial process between nations. Last week, the European Parliament approved a new Umbrella Agreement to protect personal information that is passed between the law enforcement authorities in the EU and the US. It’s a …
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By Simon Davies (This article appeared originally on the website of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) in August 2016. In recent months, a small but tenacious army of privacy and consumer rights activists has been quietly ramping up for an assault on poor privacy and data protection practices by companies and governments. These …
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By Simon Davies Like many other people, I’ve been grappling with the intricacies of the recent Belgian court decision about Facebook’s use of cookies (the English text of which is, at last, here.) I’m coming around to the view that the implications are far broader than we might imagine and it’s a little bewildering that there …
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By Simon Davies Last week I published a post that questioned whether Europe’s data consent regime was any longer sustainable. The response to this blog was interesting. Rather than being pilloried by colleagues, I received overwhelming positive comments, both privately and on Twitter. Many took the view that consent was becoming meaningless, and that either …
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By Simon Davies Over the past couple of years I’ve noticed a growing discord among my colleagues on the issue of consent in data protection. Indeed I’d go as far as saying that many believe that this pillar of rights is becoming a dangerous illusion. I’m starting to agree. I don’t say this lightly. All …
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By Simon Davies I want to briefly describe a small but messy footnote to history that just unfurled this week. This tale may explain why a big chunk of the privacy world is falling to pieces through neglect and betrayal by some privacy authorities. Many readers will be familiar with the role of privacy and …
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By Simon Davies This week the CJEU, Europe’s highest court, struck down a long-standing arrangement that allowed the flow of personal information between the EU and the US. The court ruled that, in essence, the “Safe Harbour” agreement isn’t worth the paper it is written on because the US simply cannot guarantee that it …
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By Simon Davies —- A response from FEDMA appears below this article — There are moments when parody turns to travesty and there are moments when legal interpretation becomes a constructed lie. The Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing (FEDMA) has just achieved both conditions. FEDMA is one of the two dominant European direct …
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By Simon Davies There’s a catchy line from Hamlet that – in modern times – is usually abbreviated to “There’s something rotten in Denmark”. That quote could well apply both to Danish data protection and to the national authority that supervises it. Perhaps it’s not fair to single out that delightful kingdom, but I will …
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By Simon Davies I won’t name names, but there are some data protection authorities (DPA’s) in Europe who need a swift kicking over their general attitude. Some of them are becoming increasingly timid, isolated and invisible to the public. This can’t go on. If there was any moment for tenacity and strategic engagement, it’s now. …
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