United Kingdom
Publicity vs Privacy: the case of Goodman v Walker
- A recent case in which a Schedule 1 application was brought against a Premier League footballer and a celebrity influencer has highlighted that anonymity is not guaranteed in proceedings, especially where the parties to the litigation have been seen to “court the press”.
- During the proceedings, there was an interim order in place preventing the parties from being identified. However, it was the mother’s social media posting and media interviews during this time that influenced the decision to publish the identification of the parties.
- HHJ Hess said “It would be a nonsense, opening the court to ridicule, to try to redact or anonymise this judgment to prevent identification of the parties. Further, a perusal of the many hundreds of newspaper articles published about these matters clearly illustrates that the mother has not just cooperated with, but actively instigated, press coverage placing in the public domain her own children, the circumstances of their conceptions and what she thinks about the father”. HHJ Hess foundthat the right of the press to scrutinise and comment on the court decisions was a greater priority than the privacy of the parties.
United States
Why TikTok Faces a U.S. Ban, and What’s Next?
- A panel of three federal judges unanimously rejected arguments by TikTok, a short-form video app, to overturn new legislation. The legislation in that will ban TikTok in the US if its owner, ByteDance, does not sell to a non-Chinese company. TikTok has pledged to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court.
- The restriction on ownership is directly linked to concern that ByteDance may put sensitive data, such as location information, in the hands of the Chinese government. Some Chinese laws allow the Chinese government to secretly demand data from Chinese companies and citizens for intelligence-gathering operations.
- Then ban will operate through app stores, by imposing civil penalties if providers (such as Apple or Google) distribute or update TikTok. It may take effect as soon as January 19th, unless the Supreme Court takes up the appeal.
- The ban has raised concern among advocates for digital rights that the United States may be undermining its role in promoting an open and free internet that is not controlled by individual countries.
Investigation Finds Significant Privacy Violations in Chicago’s Migrant Shelter System
- A report discovered the company that oversees the migrant shelter system in Chicago, Favorite Healthcare Staffing, has had federal complaints filed against it. Allegations say shelter staff used personal devices to access and share migrants’ information without proper security measures, leading to potentially compromised data.
- The Department of Family and Support Services said their contract with Favorite includes a confidentiality clause, and the confidentiality policy is shared with employees. The department maintains that the city of Chicago prioritizes the privacy of all residents, including new arrivals.
Europe
Privacy rules are spelling trouble for the art market
- Access to historic sales records is becoming more restricted due to increased confidentiality periods at auction houses and dwindling resources for archiving.
- The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) introduced a wealth of rules around personal data, including the requirement for explicit consent to collect or process data, the obtaining of clear consent around how information will be used and the right to erasure.
- Julian Radcliffe, the chair of The Art Loss Register, said “The auction companies, as a result of GDPR, are less willing to give out the details of consignors or buyers, even though it is agreed that this information is often necessary to prove title and provide the provenance which adds value”.
- Certain groups, most notably the heirs of Holocaust victims, have compelled courts to disclose full provenance and seek injunctions barring the sale of works of art that they believe belong to their families. Such legal frameworks have also benefited unrelated cases.
The EU Digital Identity Wallet lands in Italy despite privacy concerns
- The IT-Wallet has been introduced as part of the EU Digital Identity Wallet scheme, created to “provide a safe, reliable, and private means of digital identification for everyone in Europe”.
- Italians have the option to use the IT-Wallet feature to digitally scan their driving licence and health card directly from the IO app, Italy’s public services application. The project is set to expand and accept other documents, like ID cards and passports, while also integrating new functionalities, such as the possibility to make payments, book medical appointments, or transport.
- The EU ID Wallet has been contentious among policymakers due to the fact it enables government surveillance, and member states need to individually develop their own application. There are additional concerns about security and data breaches.
International
Record number of privacy complaints reveals ongoing issues in New Zealand
- New Zealanders made a record 1,003 privacy complaints to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) in the last financial year, highlighting growing concerns about privacy rights and poor practices across the country.
- The OPC resolved 724 complaints through its “fast resolve” process, quickly helping individuals and advising organisations on compliance. Another 279 complaints required formal investigation due to reaching the harm threshold or involving an agency’s refusal to release personal information. Of these cases, 6.5 percent resulted in financial compensation.
- The OPC also received 864 privacy breach notifications last year, 414 of which were considered serious.
Facial recognition to board a plane: How does it work, and what are the privacy concerns?
- Air Canada launched facial recognition technology for people flying out of Vancouver International Airport domestically.
- The program is optional, and travellers can register for a “digital profile” by capturing an image of their passport with their phone, and then by scanning their face. The use of facial recognition means there is no need to hand over a boarding pass or physical identification at the gate.
- Air Canada says a customer’s digital profile is encrypted and only stored on their device. It is then deleted within 36 hours.
- The technology is already being used by a number of U.S. airlines and overseas.
