Tag archives: Privacy

Germany orders Facebook to stop collecting WhatsApp user data

By Sven Jacobs (DE) on October 25, 2016 Posted in Privacy

The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (Hamburg DPA) recently issued an administrative order prohibiting Facebook from collecting and storing user data of German WhatsApp users. The Hamburg DPA also ordered Facebook to also delete all data that has already been forwarded to Facebook by WhatsApp.… Continue reading

Production of Social Media Documents Denied

By Brian Chau (CA) on July 22, 2016 Posted in Litigation, Privacy

How safe is information is hidden behind an individual’s privacy settings? Can I assume that my interest in privacy ensures that anything marked “private,” or “shared only with my friends” remains so, even in the face of a production order in Canada?… Continue reading

German competition authorities initiate proceeding against Facebook

By Sven Jacobs (DE) on May 19, 2016 Posted in Privacy

Facebook became the latest American technology company to face antitrust hurdles in Europe after the German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt), a competition authority, opened an investigation into whether Facebook Inc., USA, Facebook Ireland Limited and Facebook Germany GmbH abused their alleged dominant position in social networking by violating data protection laws. Accordingly, unlike other proceedings … Continue reading

Internet’s ‘Hide and Seek’ Battle Continues in Canada

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on May 18, 2016 Posted in Copyright, Litigation, Privacy

The anonymity of the Internet has posed many challenges to the protection of intellectual property rights. The sheer size of the population of online users and the millions of file-sharing programs and other social media outlets that exist have left IP rights holders struggling to protect their property and goodwill in the digital era. For … Continue reading

Facebook “like” button violates privacy laws

By Nerushka Bowan and Tatum Govender (ZA) on April 21, 2016 Posted in Privacy

On 9 March 2016 the Düsseldorf Regional Court in Germany ruled that an online shopping site, Peek & Cloppenburg, which integrated Facebook’s “like” button into its website had violated users’ privacy rights. How the “like” button works The button allows website users who click on it to share instantly the pages and content from the website on … Continue reading

Hacked private messages used in court

By Kerri Gevers (SG) on February 18, 2016 Posted in Litigation, Privacy

A South African high court recently ruled that a civil litigant’s private Facebook messages, which were unlawfully obtained by the hacking of his personal account, were nevertheless admissible as evidence against him. In Harvey v Niland, the litigants were members of the same corporation. Niland was also an employee of the corporation. After leaving his … Continue reading

Social Listening – Are You Ready?

By Mayura Noordyke (US) on February 16, 2016 Posted in General, Privacy

One of the keys to a successful social media presence for businesses is real-time engagement and quick response times. “Social listening” can help businesses tap into consumer sentiment in order to engage with their audience effectively and to elevate their brands. What is social listening? Social listening constitutes tracking conversations on social media that mention … Continue reading