We are Stibbe Privacy and Information Management specialists

Speaking slot - On 5 and 6 April, Christien Saris, Frédéric François and Marleen Velthuis spoke at the “Privacy Congress & National Lawyer Days” organized by the Dutch Police.

Short Reads - On 22 July 2015, the Dutch Data Protection Authority ("DPA") imposed an order on WhatsApp Inc., backed by a penalty for non-compliance. The DPA concluded that WhatsApp must appoint a representative in the Netherlands within three months, subject to a penalty of €10,000 per day with a maximum of €1,000,000.

Articles - In a judgment of 27 October 2016, the Correctional Court of Mechelen condemned Skype Communications SARL, a Luxembourg-based entity, for refusing to set up a wiretap that was ordered by the investigating magistrate (“Onderzoeksrechter”/”juge d’instruction”) in Mechelen. The wiretap was ordered as part of an investigation into a Skype user.

Short Reads - On 19 December 2016, the Belgian Act on “BE-Alert” or “Alert-SMS” was published in the Belgian Official Gazette (Act of 7 December 2016 inserting an Article 106/1 in the Act of 13 June 2005 on electronic communications). This Act describes the legal framework of the system for mass SMS-notifications to the general population, known as “Alert-SMS”, in the event of imminent danger or major disaster, for example, in the event of terrorist attacks.

Articles - Privacy, cybercriminaliteit, hacking… ICT-recht is een rechtstak die de laatste jaren voortdurend nieuwe uitdagingen op haar bord kreeg. Met de wet op het ethisch hacken en de GDPR-richtlijnen duiken opnieuw belangrijke dossiers op.

Short Reads - On 22 November 2016, the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam rendered its judgment in the case of Pearson Assessment and Information against Bär Software.

Articles - In its decision of 19 October 2016, the Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") clarified the concept of personal data. The Court held that an IP address can be qualified as personal data, even if the processor could only identify the actual user through information on the IP address held by an Internet Service Provider ("ISP").

Short Reads - On 25 January 2017, the Belgian Act on the processing of passenger name records (“PNR Act”) was published in the Belgian Official Gazette. The PNR Act implements three EU directives in the Belgian legal order: Directive 2016/681 on the use of passenger name record (PNR) data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime, Directive 2010/65 on reporting formalities for ships arriving in and/or departing from ports of the Member States, and Directive 2004/82 on the obligation of carriers to communicate passenger data.