How and when to get consent for cross-device tracking has been a worry for many companies subject to GDPR and similar regimes. The French data protection authority, CNIL, adopted recommendations about this practice in 2020, and has just updated those recommendations to provide greater detail and more examples and use cases for multi-device consent.
Continue Reading French CNIL Provides Guidance on Cross-Device Cookie Consent
The French Data Protection Authority announced a €600,000 fine against Groupe Canal+ over concerns with the media company’s direct marketing activities. According to the CNIL, the company sent users email marketing without getting consent, in violation of both GDPR and French privacy law. In particular, the CNIL noted, the company sent marketing emails to individuals who had provided their personal information not to Canal+, but instead to one of its partners. When doing so, they were not told by the partner that the information would be share with -and used by- Canal+ for Canal+’s marketing activities. Canal+ should have ensured that the partners had gotten appropriate consent, according to the CNIL.
Continue Reading CNIL Fines Canal+ Over Marketing and Data Security Concerns
The French Data Protection Authority capped off 2022 by terminating an investigation into Lusha Systems, Inc.’s compliance with GDPR. CNIL concluded that the law did not apply to the US company’s activities. As many know, since GDPR was passed US companies have been concerned about the extent the law applies outside of the EU: it applies not only to those entities with operations in the EU, but also those outside of the region who are either offering goods or services to people in the EU or monitoring individuals in the EU. Here, CNIL concluded that Lusha was not offering goods or services to those in the EU, nor was it monitoring those in the EU.
Continue Reading CNIL Weighs in On GDPR Applicability to US Company
Following a similar case from Austria, the French data protection authority recently concluded that certain use of cookies placed by US data analytics tools violated GDPR. The case came before the CNIL as the result of a complaint filed by “None of Your Business,” the non-governmental organization created by Max Schrems.
Continue Reading CNIL Recommends Using US Analytics Tools Only for Anonymous Statistical Data
The French CNIL (the country’s data protection authority) has released rules for how companies can use the biometric information of their employees. Fingerprint scanning is a popular method for “clocking in” around the globe, and like the biometric laws in the US (in particular in Illinois, which we have written about here), it has fallen under scrutiny in France. Late last year the CNIL issued a fine for a company’s use of fingerprint timeclocks, stating that use of biometrics could not be done without CNIL approval under the French Data Protection Act. Around the same time, the CNIL sought input on proposed regulations, which have now been adopted.
Continue Reading France Continues to Focus on Use of Biometrics