EU

Subscribe to EU
Photo of John Whelan

The political machinations continue at EU level and predictions for publication of a final form Data Protection Regulation increasingly refer to 2016 as the likely date. But to read behind the headlines continues to be a useful exercise for corporates who need to give real consideration now to what their regulatory landscape might look like in the not too distant future.

A key issue will be determining the place of “main establishment” which in turn will determine the appropriate lead authority.

If that isn’t clear, or there is disagreement, it is being proposed that an EU Data Protection Board (EDPB) would have power to make a binding determination.…

Continue Reading Data Protection Reform – One Stop Shop Complexity

Photo of John Whelan

Great day today attending the Health Informatics Society of Ireland 2014 Annual Conference.  In our Data Protection for Healthcare workshop together with Sarah Reade, Lead ICT Project Manager, Saint John of God Hospitaller Ministries and Jim Gregg, Irish Computer Society, we had a lively discussion on the data protection challenges faced by medical practitioners in the context of research and access requests. …

Continue Reading Health Informatics Society of Ireland 2014 Annual Conference

Photo of Conor McEneaney

Apple Pay: an Introduction

One of the most exciting elements of the Apple iPhone 6 launch in September was the announcement by Apple of the Apple Pay feature. Apple Pay is a near field communication (NFC) based mobile payment system that comes pre-installed on the iPhone 6. NFC technology involves a short-range, low power wireless link evolved from radio-frequency identification technology that can transfer small amounts of data between two devices held a few centimetres from each other. It is the same technology that is behind the ‘tap and pay’ debit cards that have been rolled out by Irish banks in the last number of years.

While Apple Pay was launched with the iPhone 6 in the US, it has not yet been rolled out in Europe with rumours predicting an Apple Pay European launch in 2015.

It is clear that Apple Pay has the potential to be a ground breaking technology that may change the way that consumers use their phones and, indeed, how consumers pay for goods and services.…

Continue Reading Apple Pay – Challenges and Solutions

Photo of Alison Quinn

The European Court of Human Rights, in Defli AS v Estonia, has upheld unanimously a finding of liability against an Internet news portal regarding offensive comments that were posted online by one of its readers. The Court held that making Defli AS liable for the comments was a justified and proportionate interference with its right to freedom of expression and thta there was no violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression). 

The facts of the case date back to 2006, when Delfi AS, one of Estonia’s largest internet news sites published an article relating to a ferry company and its decision to change some of its routes to certain islands. This change subsequently damaged ice roads considered to be a cheaper alternative to the ferry services. This led to an outcry of abusive and potentially defamatory online comments about the owner of the ferry company underneath the article.…

Continue Reading Website found liable for online commentary