Happy Thursday everybody, and happy Data Privacy Week!
Maybe it’s not as famous as, say Pi Day (March 14th) or Star Wars Day (May 4th), but Data Privacy Day rolls around every January 28th. This year, that’s this Saturday. Amongst members of the privacy community, it’s often celebrated all week long.
Now, celebrating Data Privacy Week doesn’t mean we’re popping champagne bottles or exchanging gifts all week long, but we are being especially reflective about the biggest challenges in data privacy today, where we’ve come from, and where we’re going.
If you’d like to learn more about the day and how to celebrate, scroll down to see our blog on the subject.
Here’s to a happy Data Privacy Day,
Arlo
Meta's WhatsApp fined 5.5 mln euro by lead EU privacy regulator
Ireland's Data Privacy Commissioner has fined WhatsApp 5.5 million euros after Meta was found to have an improper legal basis for targeting advertising based on users’ personal information. EU regulators have issued similar orders against Meta’s other services on the grounds that its legal basis is not valid. The Irish Data Privacy Commissioner has issued 1.3 billion euros in fines to Meta thus far.
T-Mobile says hacker accessed personal data of 37 million customers
T-Mobile revealed that the personal data of 37 million customers were accessed by a hacker, including information on names, billing addresses, emails, phone numbers, dates of birth, T-Mobile account numbers, and more. The hacker had access to T-Mobile data for over month until the telecom company detected the breach and addressed the vulnerability the hacker had been exploiting. It is the eighth time T-Mobile has been hacked since 2018.
Sen. Brown's bill would make Indiana 6th state with data privacy law
Indiana State Senator Liz Brown has introduced Senate Bill 5 to the Indiana state legislature, a data privacy bill that closely resembles the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act. Brown introduced more comprehensive legislation before that was modeled on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), but this earlier bill failed to pass the Indiana House. Brown is hopeful that this new bill will be more appropriate for the state of Indiana.
DOJ files antitrust suit against Google, seeks to break up its ad business
In its second antitrust lawsuit against Google, the U.S. Department of Justice seeks to compel Google to divest parts of the business, asserting that it has used its monopoly power in online advertising to exclude competitors. A Google spokesperson said, “Today’s lawsuit from the DOJ attempts to pick winners and losers in the highly competitive advertising technology sector.”
GDPR Fines Reach Record Level
Last year, EU authorities issued 2.92 billion euros in GDPR fines, an increase of 168% from 2021. The highest fine (405 million euros) came from the Irish Data Privacy Commissioner against Meta for violations related to children’s data on Instagram. Meta also paid the bulk of all GDPR fines in 2023.
CPPA announces board meeting, potential action on CPRA regulations
Although the CPRA formally went into effect January 1, 2023, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) has yet to finalize its formal rules. Now, the CPPA has announced a public meeting on February 3rd with draft CPRA rules on the agenda.
IAPP releases its Privacy and AI Governance Report
The International Association of Privacy Professionals has released a new report on privacy and AI. Though the full report is restricted to members of the association, anyone can view and download the executive summary.
Osano blog: What is Data Privacy Day and how can you celebrate it?
It’s Osano’s second favorite holiday (after Halloween, of course)—Data Privacy Day is here! Every January 28th, privacy professionals, employees, employers, and regular citizens alike have the opportunity to reflect on what privacy means to them. Check out our blog post to learn everything there is to know about Data Privacy Day and how you can celebrate it.
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