The Three Pillars of GDPR – Consistency (No. 3)

And so, at long last, the GDPR is the law, and we leave behind the relatively lower standards under the Data Protection Directive.  The Directive, which has been on the books for more than two decades, now passes into obsolescence, like beepers or, in Miami, traffic laws.  Now, we’ll all start to learn what the… Read More

The Three Pillars of GDPR – Security (No. 2)

There are 72 hours to go until GDPR Day (#privmas), and you can almost feel CISOs hoping that, if there’s going to be a breach, it happens today and not on Monday.  We noted once before that Andrea Jelinek, chair of the (very important) Article 29 Working Party deadpanned that “there will be a two… Read More

E14: The Three Pillars of GDPR (🎧PODCAST)

The three pillars of GDPR are transparency, security, and consistency. Regulators have stated they see transparency as the central point, but the other two are equally important. When a natural person asks your company for a Data Subject Access Requests (DSAR), how will you react? The Ward brothers explain what companies need to expect within… Read More

Your New Privacy Policy Looks Too Much Like Your Old Privacy Policy

One of the most popular memes in recent years has been the “distracted boyfriend” meme. The coverage has been amazing, including the identification of an 18th Century equivalent painting. One of the most striking things about the meme is that the presumably current girlfriend has a similar look to the presumably new girl that is… Read More

E12: GDPR ARTICLE 22 AND AUTOMATED DECISION MAKING (🎧PODCAST)

One of the most forward-looking articles in the GDPR is Article 22. By identifying automated decision-making as a specific issue with data processing, the GDPR is also stepping into the forefront of machine learning and artificial intelligence. The Ward brothers discuss AI and Machine Learning and the gap in decision making that many of these… Read More

The Three Pillars of GDPR – Transparency (No. 1)

Two years ago, when the European Commission approved the GDPR and set an effective date for May 25, 2018, I thought “that is such a long time to wait.”  It was a choice out of keeping with American legislative methods, where Congress passes a law and maybe gives an effective date of the following January 1, but… Read More

E11: OKAY GOOGLE, IS THIS LEGAL? (🎧PODCAST)

The demonstration of Google Duplex has both stunned and terrified the world. AI can do that. For some legal insights into this, check out Jay Ward’s discussion on his blog post here. If you haven’t watched the video yet, its worth the few minutes to understand what all the commotion is about. We play the… Read More

GDPR Countdown – Two Weeks to Go

As we roll into the final two weeks of our countdown, we’re going to take something of a step back and look at issues more broadly. Yesterday, we discussed Google’s AI, and how we’re all going to be living in the Duplex, as it were. I am (clearly) pretty hung up on this, and have… Read More

“OK Google – Is this Legal?”

Machine learning and artificial intelligence are the “it” buzzwords of mid-2018, and even after our short attention spans turn to something else, the concepts behind the words will continue to evolve. Everyone talks about Skynet and the inevitable rise of our robot overlords, and most of the time they’re joking (other than when they show our friends the Boston… Read More

GDPR Countdown – Three Weeks to Go

It’s May, which means we’re now in that frantic time period leading up to the GDPR where the biggest concerns loom largest. For some, that’s the documentary obligations under the Regulation, for others it is whether to hire a DPO, but it seems that everyone I talk to is worried about Article 20’s requirement for… Read More

3 Weeks Left Until GDPR

It’s May, which means we’re now in that frantic time period leading up to the GDPR where the biggest concerns loom largest. For some, that’s the documentary obligations under the Regulation, for others it is whether to hire a DPO, but it seems that everyone I talk to is worried about Article 20’s requirement for… Read More

Lost in Translation, or “Mayday”

Given my practice, it probably isn’t surprising that I hear data and technology related buzzwords all the time, and often they’re just strung together in an incoherent jumble. “Blockchain crypto machine learning AI alakazam.” Usually this jumble is followed by a statement like “it’s changing the world, man,” at which point I always know that… Read More