Cyber Law Watch

UK’s top Websites Receive Cookie Warnings from the Information Commissioner

Dec 07 2023

By Claude-Étienne Armingaud and Sophie Verstraeten

The UK’s Information Commissioner (the “ICO”) has recently sent warnings to the UK’s most visited websites to inform them that they may face enforcement action if they do not make changes to their cookie banner to ensure compliance with UK data protection law. For example, some websites warned by the ICO do not provide their user with a fair choice on tracking for personalised advertising. This position aligns with the EU’s stance, noting France (see prior Alert here).

California Privacy Protection Agency Proposes Draft Rules for Automated Decision Making, Including Artificial Intelligence

Dec 07 2023

By Eric Vicente Flores and Michael Stortz

Executive Summary: The California Privacy Protection Agency has proposed a new set of draft regulations that aim to regulate the use of artificial intelligence and automated decision making technology. These regulations will be discussed alongside other draft regulations the agency has previously proposed regarding risk assessments and cybersecurity assessments. The three sets of draft regulations will be discussed at the agency’s meeting on 8 December.

Australia’s Privacy Framework set to be Revamped Following the Government’s Response to the Privacy Act Review Report

Oct 13 2023

By: Cameron Abbott, Rob Pulham, Stephanie Mayhew,and Maddy Bassal

Last week the federal Government released its response (the Response) to the recommendations proposed by the AGD’s Privacy Act Review Report released in February 2023 (the Report).

California Proposes Cybersecurity Requirements for Businesses

Oct 11 2023

By: Eric Vicente Flores, Avril Love, and Whitney McCollum

In recognition of Cybersecurity Awareness Month in the US, we will be bringing awareness to relevant 2023 cybersecurity updates each week.

On 28 August, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) published draft regulations regarding risk assessments and cybersecurity audits for consideration at the Board’s September meeting. The draft regulations precede the formal rulemaking process, but provide insight into CPPA’s current priorities.

China Will Issue Safe Harbor Rules to Facilitate Cross-Border Data Flow

Oct 05 2023

By Amigo L. Xie and Dan Wu

On 28 September 2023, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) released draft Provisions on Regulating and Facilitating Cross-Border Data Flow (in Chinese) for a public comment period ending on 15 October 2023.¹

UK Government Approves Adequacy of UK-US Data Bridge

Oct 03 2023

By Claude-Étienne Armingaud and Nóirín McFadden

The UK Government has laid adequacy regulations before Parliament that, once in force from 12 October 2023, will permit use of the UK – US “Data Bridge” as a safeguard for personal data transfers from the UK to the US under Article 44 UK GDPR.

Japanese Government Identified Issues Related to AI and Copyrights

Sep 25 2023

By Aiko Yamada and Yuki Sako

Aiming to address creators’ concerns and to minimize risks of copyright infringement by artificial intelligence (AI) developers and users, the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan convened panels at the Legal System Subcommittee of the Copyright Committee on 26 July 2023 and 5 September 2023 to identify issues to resolve in relation with generative AI and copyrights as roughly noted below:

Jul 10 2023

By Amigo L. Xie, Lingjun Zhang, and Dan Wu

About four months after the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) released the Measures for the Standard Contract for the Export of Personal Data from China (China SCC Measures), and 15 working days after the China SCC Measures became effective, Beijing CAC published a notice announcing that a Beijing-based company passed the first-ever China SCC filing on 25 June 2023 (Notice).

Based on the Notice, the first China SCC filing relates to a cross-border personal data transfer from a Beijing-based data exporter, an online data service provider, to a Hong Kong-based data recipient. The type of data exported by the Beijing-based data exporter is personal data related to credit references as disclosed by the Notice.

The completion of the first-ever China SCC filing conveyed some positive messages to the market:

Jul 06 2023

By Yuki Sako and Aiko Yamada

Following the call for international standards on Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the recent G7 summit, on 2 June 2023, in a rare move, Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PPC) issued two warnings in a publicly released letter (the “Letter”):

Firstly to the three categories of users of generative AI services, i.e.,
- business operators who collect personal information and thus are subject to the Act on the Protection of Personal Information of Japan (APPI);
- government agencies, which may adopt generative AI services into their operations; and
- the general public; and
Secondly to the “ChatGPT” developers/publishers.

Jun 22 2023

By Cameron Abbott, Daniel Knight, Rob Pulham, Stephanie Mayhew, and Dadar Ahmadi-Pirshahid

Amid the rapid acceleration of tools like ChatGPT and global calls for tailored regulation of artificial intelligence tools, the Australia Federal Government has released a discussion paper on the safe and responsible use of AI. The Government is consulting on what safeguards are needed to ensure Australia has an appropriate regulatory and governance framework to manage the potential risks, while continuing to encourage uptake of innovative technologies.

California Privacy Protection Agency Proposes Draft Rules for Automated Decision Making, Including Artificial Intelligence

Australia’s Privacy Framework set to be Revamped Following the Government’s Response to the Privacy Act Review Report

California Proposes Cybersecurity Requirements for Businesses

China Will Issue Safe Harbor Rules to Facilitate Cross-Border Data Flow

UK Government Approves Adequacy of UK-US Data Bridge

Japanese Government Identified Issues Related to AI and Copyrights

Beijing CAC Approved the First China SCC Filing

Japanese Privacy Regulator Cautioned Businesses regarding Issues Relating to Generative AI Services

Australian Government contemplates Asimov’s Omnibus