SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next question:
Javier is a member of the fitness club EVERFIT. This company has branches in many EU member states, but for the purposes of the GDPR maintains its primary establishment in France. Javier lives in Newry, Northern Ireland (part of the U.K.), and commutes across the border to work in Dundalk, Ireland. Two years ago while on a business trip, Javier was photographed while working out at a branch of EVERFIT in Frankfurt, Germany. At the time, Javier gave his consent to being included in the photograph, since he was told that it would be used for promotional purposes only. Since then, the photograph has been used in the club's U.K.
brochures, and it features in the landing page of its U.K. website. However, the fitness club has recently fallen into disrepute due to widespread mistreatment of members at various branches of the club in several EU member states. As a result, Javier no longer feels comfortable with his photograph being publicly associated with the fitness club.
After numerous failed attempts to book an appointment with the manager of the local branch to discuss this matter, Javier sends a letter to EVETFIT requesting that his image be removed from the website and all promotional materials. Months pass and Javier, having received no acknowledgment of his request, becomes very anxious about this matter. After repeatedly failing to contact EVETFIT through alternate channels, he decides to take action against the company.
Javier contacts the U.K. Information Commissioner's Office ('ICO' - the U.K.'s supervisory authority) to lodge a complaint about this matter. The ICO, pursuant to Article 56 (3) of the GDPR, informs the CNIL (i.e.
the supervisory authority of EVERFIT's main establishment) about this matter. Despite the fact that EVERFIT has an establishment in the U.K., the CNIL decides to handle the case in accordance with Article 60 of the GDPR. The CNIL liaises with the ICO, as relevant under the cooperation procedure. In light of issues amongst the supervisory authorities to reach a decision, the European Data Protection Board becomes involved and, pursuant to the consistency mechanism, issues a binding decision.
Additionally, Javier sues EVERFIT for the damages caused as a result of its failure to honor his request to have his photograph removed from the brochure and website.
Assuming that multiple EVETFIT branches across several EU countries are acting as separate data controllers, and that each of those branches were responsible for mishandling Javier's request, how may Javier proceed in order to seek compensation?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next question:
Due to rapidly expanding workforce, Company A has decided to outsource its payroll function to Company B.
Company B is an established payroll service provider with a sizable client base and a solid reputation in the industry.
Company B's payroll solution for Company A relies on the collection of time and attendance data obtained via a biometric entry system installed in each of Company A's factories. Company B won't hold any biometric data itself, but the related data will be uploaded to Company B's UK servers and used to provide the payroll service. Company B's live systems will contain the following information for each of Company A's employees:
* Name
* Address
* Date of Birth
* Payroll number
* National Insurance number
* Sick pay entitlement
* Maternity/paternity pay entitlement
* Holiday entitlement
* Pension and benefits contributions
* Trade union contributions
Jenny is the compliance officer at Company A. She first considers whether Company A needs to carry out a data protection impact assessment in relation to the new time and attendance system, but isn't sure whether or not this is required.
Jenny does know, however, that under the GDPR there must be a formal written agreement requiring Company B to use the time and attendance data only for the purpose of providing the payroll service, and to apply appropriate technical and organizational security measures for safeguarding the data. Jenny suggests that Company B obtain advice from its data protection officer. The company doesn't have a DPO but agrees, in the interest of finalizing the contract, to sign up for the provisions in full. Company A enters into the contract.
Weeks later, while still under contract with Company A, Company B embarks upon a separate project meant to enhance the functionality of its payroll service, and engages Company C to help. Company C agrees to extract all personal data from Company B's live systems in order to create a new database for Company B.
This database will be stored in a test environment hosted on Company C's U.S. server. The two companies agree not to include any data processing provisions in their services agreement, as data is only being used for IT testing purposes.
Unfortunately, Company C's U.S. server is only protected by an outdated IT security system, and suffers a cyber security incident soon after Company C begins work on the project. As a result, data relating to Company A's employees is visible to anyone visiting Company C's website. Company A is unaware of this until Jenny receives a letter from the supervisory authority in connection with the investigation that ensues. As soon as Jenny is made aware of the breach, she notifies all affected employees.
Under the GDPR, which of Company B's actions would NOT be likely to trigger a potential enforcement action?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next question:
You have just been hired by a toy manufacturer based in Hong Kong. The company sells a broad range of dolls, action figures and plush toys that can be found internationally in a wide variety of retail stores. Although the manufacturer has no offices outside Hong Kong and in fact does not employ any staff outside Hong Kong, it has entered into a number of local distribution contracts. The toys produced by the company can be found in all popular toy stores throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. A large portion of the company's revenue is due to international sales.
The company now wishes to launch a new range of connected toys, ones that can talk and interact with children. The CEO of the company is touting these toys as the next big thing, due to the increased possibilities offered: The figures can answer children's Questions: on various subjects, such as mathematical calculations or the weather. Each figure is equipped with a microphone and speaker and can connect to any smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth. Any mobile device within a 10-meter radius can connect to the toys via Bluetooth as well.
The figures can also be associated with other figures (from the same manufacturer) and interact with each other for an enhanced play experience.
When a child asks the toy a question, the request is sent to the cloud for analysis, and the answer is generated on cloud servers and sent back to the figure. The answer is given through the figure's integrated speakers, making it appear as though that the toy is actually responding to the child's QUESTION. The packaging of the toy does not provide technical details on how this works, nor does it mention that this feature requires an internet connection. The necessary data processing for this has been outsourced to a data center located in South Africa. However, your company has not yet revised its consumer-facing privacy policy to indicate this.
In parallel, the company is planning to introduce a new range of game systems through which consumers can play the characters they acquire in the course of playing the game. The system will come bundled with a portal that includes a Near-Field Communications (NFC) reader. This device will read an RFID tag in the action figure, making the figure come to life onscreen. Each character has its own stock features and abilities, but it is also possible to earn additional ones by accomplishing game goals. The only information stored in the tag relates to the figures' abilities. It is easy to switch characters during the game, and it is possible to bring the figure to locations outside of the home and have the character's abilities remain intact.
To ensure GDPR compliance, what should be the company's position on the issue of consent?
Under what circumstances might the "soft opt-in" rule apply in relation to direct marketing?
After leaving the EU under the terms of Brexit, the United Kingdom will seek an adequacy determination.
What is the reason for this?
