Included in this edition of Data & Privacy News: WhatsApp to attempt another privacy policy change in mid-May, Swedish Police Authority fined for unlawful use of facial recognition tool and more...

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Draft UK Adequacy Decision published by European Commission

The European Commission has published a draft decision to grant the UK 'adequacy' status providing for the free flow of personal data between the UK and the EU.

The decision now needs to be approved by the EDPB and also go through the Member States' comitology procedure.

In the meantime, these data flows continue under a conditional interim regime that was agreed in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement which expires on 30 June 2021.

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ICO launches toolkit for organisations using data analytics for personal data

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has launched a data analytics toolkit and is urging all organisations that are contemplating the use of data analytics for personal data to view it.

The ICO has made it clear that it is vital that data protection should be built in from the start when using data analytics in the processing of personal data as this helps gain public trust and confidence in the technology, as well as being a legal requirement. 

The toolkit includes key data protection points organisations need to consider from the outset of any project and is part of the ICO's artificial intelligence priority work.

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Swedish Police Authority fined for unlawful use of facial recognition tool

Sweden's data watchdog, the IMY, has fined the Swedish Police Authority €250,000 for failing to conduct data protection checks before using controversial facial recognition tool Clearview Al to identify individuals in breach of the Criminal Data Act. 

The Police Authority have been ordered to carry out training and education sessions for employees on data protection rules surrounding the processing of personal data, as well as inform those individuals who have had their privacy breached.

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WhatsApp to attempt another privacy policy change in mid-May 

WhatsApp, a text and voice messaging service, has decided to progress with its plans to change its privacy policy despite widespread outrage from users in its previous attempt in January. 

The firm has set a deadline of the 15 May to agree to the new terms of service. Users who don't agree, will eventually be shut-off from the service.

WhatsApp have made no changes to the terms they attempted to introduce earlier in the year, however they are hoping a more verbose information screen and extra time to view the proposed changes will alleviate any user concerns. 

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Facebook issued with another fine by Italy's competition authority 

Italy's competition authority, the AGCM, has issued another fine to Facebook of €7 million for misleading users over what it does with their personal data. 

In 2018, the AGCM issued the company a fine of €10M for two violations of Italy's Consumer Code, after it carried out an investigation of their commercial practices. 

The competition authority also launched proceedings in 2020 for failure to inform users "with clarity and immediacy" about how it makes money from their personal data. 

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