In September 2021, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) set up a Cookie Banner Taskforce (Taskforce) to coordinate the response to several hundred complaints made to data protection supervisory authorities (SAs) by the NGO NOYB concerning the design and characteristics of cookie banners. The objectives of the Taskforce are to promote cooperation, information sharing and best practices. On 18 January 2023, the Taskforce published its draft report on work undertaken to date. In the report, the SAs agreed on an...

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Some progress was made this week on the AI Act as lead negotiators in the European Parliament came to an agreement on a set of compromised amendments. The EU AI Act, which was first published by the European Commission in April 2021, is a flagship proposal to regulate Artificial Intelligence technology in the EU. The overarching objective of the proposal is to ensure that AI systems placed on the EU market and used within the bloc are safe and...

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On February 1, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a complaint against and proposed settlement agreement (the “proposed order”) with GoodRx, a digital health company, over its data sharing practices that allegedly resulted in the disclosure of sensitive health information to third-parties. This is the first enforcement action the FTC has ever brought under the Health Breach Notification Rule (HBNR).1 The commissioners unanimously voted to approve the proposed order, which must be published for public comment before the...

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The European Commission, in response to an inquiry by the European Ombudsman and pressure from Irish privacy campaigners, has requested that all national data protection regulators file detailed bi-monthly reports on any active large-scale cross-border investigations. The Commission stipulates that the reports will be required to include details including key procedural steps taken, the controller and/or processor who is the subject of investigation, as well as the provisions of GDPR that are at issue. This development has scope for considerable...

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The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, or “Brexit Freedoms Bill,” is moving through the UK Parliament. Bill would end the special status of Retained EU Law in the UK (those laws kept in place at the time of Brexit) and enable it to be amended, repealed or replaced more quickly and easily. The immediate potential impact of this law for employers would be the possible deletion of certain employment regulations unless they are preserved or replaced. The...

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In a notice scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on February 7, 2023, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it is again extending the China 301 tariff exclusions on 81 “COVID items” which would have otherwise expired on February 28, 2023. The extensions will run through May 15, 2023. The specific items in question can be accessed here. By way of background, the USTR had previously announced the extension or modification of a total of 99...

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