Niharika Verma reports: The Spanish data protection watchdog has imposed a fine of €200,000 (~$224k) on the GSM Association (GSMA), the organizer of Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2021, for breaching privacy rules. The violation was related to the collection of biometric data of show attendees, including the implementation of a facial recognition system called BREEZZ….
Sending personal data, receiving non-personal data: Recent EU judgment reinforces the power of pseudonymization
Gonzalo F. Gállego, Santiago de Ampuero, and Juan Ramón Robles of Hogan Lovells write: A new EU General Court ruling has nuanced the threshold between pseudonymous and anonymous data. In particular, it clarifies that supervisory authorities need to carry out a “test” to assess whether data can be deemed personal data or not, opening the…
Vietnam to require social media users to verify identity
Reuters reports: Vietnam is preparing to make it mandatory for social media users of both local and foreign platforms to verify their identity in a bid to rein in online scams, state media reported on Monday. The measure, part of the Telecommunications Law Amendment to be issued by the end of this year, will enable…
EPIC to NY City Council: Pass Bills Banning Facial Recognition in Businesses and Housing
Jake Wiener, Counsel in EPIC’s Project on Surveillance Oversight, testified on May 3 and submitted written testimony before the New York City Council’s Committees on Technology and Civil and Human Rights. The Committees are considering two bills: Int 1014-2023 banning face surveillance in places of public accommodation and Int 1024-2023 banning face surveillance by landlords. Mr. Wiener urged the Council…