9 6 June 2007

News:

Search engine data retention practices are to be scrutinised by the European Commission's Article 29 Data Protection Working Party, after Google responded to its privacy concerns by pledging, in a 10 June letter, to anonymise search data after 18 months.

The European Commission has told the United States' representatives on the World Trade Organization (WTO) that the 27 European Union member states want compensation for a US ban on internet gambling, which does not comply with global trade rules.

Discussions on an international treaty protecting broadcast rights, including on the internet, have ended in failure as countries failed to agree on the legal and technological protection levels afforded to broadcasters.

Features:

The announcement by the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party that it is to analyse Google's response to its privacy concerns and investigate the privacy policies of other search engines underlines the concerns the Working Party has over search engine activity and the amount of data search engines hold.

Implementing the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive into UK law
UK consultation on implementing the Data Retention Directive closes
Office of Fair Trading says one in four unaware of internet shopping laws
Dates for your diary

With effect from 2 July 2007, PayPal in Europe relinquished its status as an electronic money issuer (EMI) authorised by the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) and became a credit institution authorised by the Commission de Surveilance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), the Luxembourg equivalent of the FSA. With effect from that date, all PayPal customers resident in the EU (about 35 million) now hold their PayPal account relationship with the new bank entity, PayPal (Europe) S.àr.l et Cie S.C.A. ('PayPal Europe').

The European Commission recently issued its plans for tackling cyber crime, citing rapid increases in the instances and types of crimes being committed owing to significant developments in internet technologies. The Commission identifies European law enforcement co-operation, public-private partnership and a common European approach to international cooperation as the key methods to be deployed, but cites legislation as ineffective in the current climate. Catherine Stromdale, a solicitor at Wragge & Co LLP, analyses the Commission's plans.

Google recently responded to concerns raised by the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party by announcing it will 'anonymise' search log data after 18 months. The Article 29 Working Party's response will be closely watched by other multinational internet companies, who must balance US and EU data retention and privacy requirements, which can often differ and conflict. Lisa Comber, an associate in the London commercial and technology practice of Faegre & Benson LLP, examines whether Google's commitments are likely to satisfy the Article 29 Working Party's concerns.

A European Commission consultation on the Database Directive has highlighted difficulties with interpreting the precise scope of the sui generis database right. Jeremy Morton and Geoff Lees, of Simmons & Simmons, discuss if the Directive has succeeded in achieving its aims and highlight the European Commission's policy options following the consultation.

The UK Financial Services Authority has announced that it will be incorporating industry recommendations in its regulation of outsourcing, reflecting a wider change of policy from the use of detailed rules to principles-based industry regulation. Tim Wright and Dominic Hodgkinson, of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, examine the issues.

Christopher Rees, Head of the Herbert Smith LLP Global TMT group and Dominic Callaghan, senior associate, provide an overview of the latest key developments in IT and eCommerce in the EU.

Website Liability: Fair Housing v Roommates.com, LLC
Workplace monitoring: Copland v The United Kingdom
Comparative advertising: 'De Landtsheer Emmanuel SA'