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New North American Trade Agreement Establishes Rules on Privacy, Cyber and Liability of Internet Service Providors

The United States, Mexico and Canada announced a new multinational trade agreement, known as the “USMCA”, replacing the 1990s North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The USMCA is expected to be signed and come into force in the coming months. It includes an extensive chapter on e-commerce, privacy and cyber, and limitation of liability of internet service providers. Among other ...

Ninth Circuit Says Internet Subscriber's IP Address Insufficient to Find Liability for Copyright Infringement

The U.S. federal Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has held that bare allegations that a defendant was the registered subscriber of an Internet Protocol address associated with copyright infringing activity is insufficient to support claims of copyright infringement.

The case involved a Nevada company that holds the copyright to the film The Cobbler, which was unlawfully distributed from ...

UK Gov't Reveals Some of Its Post-Brexit Data Protection Plans

The UK Government has issued guidance explaining the probable data protection consequences of the UK leaving the EU without mutual agreement with the EU authorities on March 29, 2019. The UK Government views this “no-deal” scenario unlikely but underscores its responsibility “to prepare for all eventualities”.

The guidance explains that upon Brexit, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will ...

Israeli State Attorney issues prosecution and sentencing guidelines for computer intrusion offenses

In late August, the Israeli State Attorney, Mr. Shai Nitzan, issued guidelines (number 2.38) outlining the policy on prosecution, case management and sentencing considerations, regarding the offense of unlawful intrusion to computer material (section 4 of the Computers Law, 5755-1995).

The guidelines establish a hierarchical severity of acts that constitute intrusion to computer material. The guidelines explains that severe punishment ...

Brazil Enacts General Data Privacy Law Mirroring the GDPR

The Brazilian President has signed into law a new General Data Privacy Law (Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais) similar to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The law has broad applicability as it applies to any processing of personal data provided that: (1) the processing operation is carried out in the national territory (i.e. Brazil); (2) the ...

European Parliament Advances Precedential Copyright Legislation

The European Union Parliament has approved in first-reading a controversial legislation on “Copyright in the Digital Single Market”, with precedential copyright arrangements. The legislation’s stated objective is to create a “modern, more European copyright framework” as it regards the online environment, yet its overall impact on Internet services and end-users is unclear at this point.

One of the controversial arrangements ...

U.S. Federal Court Says ICO Fraud Can be Subject to Securities Laws

The U.S. federal Court for the Eastern District of New York has given federal prosecutors a green light to indict a businessman charged with violations of securities law in making materially false and fraudulent misrepresentations in connection with two virtual currency investment schemes and their related Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). 

Prosecutors charged the businessman with fraudulently inducing investors to purchase ...

Israeli Privacy Regulator Announces Oversight Initiative

The Israeli Privacy Protection Authority (the Israeli privacy regulator) has announced a new enforcement unit focused on “broad supervision”. The new unit was recently launched within the criminal and administrative enforcement branches of the Privacy Protection Authority. The new unit is entrusted with conducting broad sectoral and subject-based investigations in order to examine compliance with the Israeli privacy law and ...

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