Recent legislative and legal developments in the global digital world.
Thursday, 14 May, 2020
Cost-benefit analysis published by the AEPD on the use of technology in the fight against COVID-19
In its report, the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) briefly analyzes, for informative purposes, some of the technologies used in the fight against COVID-19, the anticipated benefits and potential cost to individual privacy.
New tax in Poland: 1.5% on streaming media platforms
According to the Polish government, the tax will apply to advertising income and customer subscriptions and will raise an estimated €3.26 million, to be allocated to the Polish Film Institute. However, further details on the tax, such as the date of entry into force or tax period, are not yet known.
Intensive monitoring of platforms and websites by the EC in order to prevent COVID-19 fraud
The EC has joined other national authorities to set up an ongoing general monitoring system and to carry out an in-depth analysis of certain offers relating to COVID-19. The aim is to identify and report illegal practices and the move has been welcomed by numerous platforms, which have sent the EC a detailed list of the measures implemented to prevent these types of fraud.
The Council of the European Union adopts a series of rules to facilitate the detection of tax fraud in cross-border e-commerce transactions
The rules make it easier for each Member State to collect the electronic records provided by payment service providers in a consistent manner and create a new electronic system to act as an anti-fraud tool, since the system stores payment data and allows for its subsequent processing. The new rules are made up of two pieces of legislation: amendments to Directive 2006/112/EC and amendments to Council Regulation (EU) 904/2010. The new measures will apply as from January 1, 2024.
Monday, 20 January, 2020
The EU considers measures to impose a ban on facial recognition in public places
The European Commission could prohibit the use of facial recognition technologies in public places for five years in order to use this period to develop solutions to reduce the risks that such technology may entail.
This has been reflected in a draft white paper on artificial intelligence obtained by Politico and Euractiv, which seeks to toughen up the conditions imposed on developers of artificial intelligence, in order to bolster the ethical use of this technology.
Thursday, 16 January, 2020
China considers that an article created by artificial intelligence should be protected by copyright
Following the judgment, the article, generated by an algorithm developed by the tech giant Tencent, qualifies for the same copyright protection as if a human had created it.
EU-U.S. Privacy Shield: Third review welcomes progress while identifying steps for improvement
The European Commission publishes its report on the third annual review of the functioning of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield. The report confirms that the U.S. continues to ensure an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred under the Privacy Shield from the EU to participating companies in the U.S. Being in the third year of the Shield's operation, the review focused on the lessons learnt from its practical implementation and day-to-day functionality. Today there are about 5,000 companies participating in this EU-U.S. data protection framework.
