Dr. Axel Spies is a German attorney (Rechtsanwalt) in Washington, DC, and co-publisher of the German journals Multi-Media-Recht (MMR) and Zeitschrift für Datenschutz (ZD).
Blockchain: Chained Up by Legal Issues
The German government acknowledges that interest in blockchain technology is growing rapidly and new applications are emerging almost daily. Blockchain as a technology even made it into the German CDU/SPD …
One Year GDPR: What Comes Next?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on May 25, 2018. Many EU and U.S. businesses rushed to take measures to comply with the new requirements. The GDPR …
EU Blocking Statute and U.S. Sanctions: Difficult Choices for German Companies
The first batch of re-imposed U.S. sanctions on Iran is in effect. As a countermeasure, the EU has updated its already existing Blocking Statute with measures that entered into force …
EU Data Protection: GDPR In Full Force and Now?
On the Rocky Road toward Compliance with No Time to Lose When the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the EU entered into force on May 25, this was a …
Congress Approves Data Access Outside of the United States (CLOUD Act) – But the EU May Not Like It
The Italian Machiavelli once famously stated: “I am not interested in preserving the status quo, I want to overthrow it.” It is no secret that many U.S. government officials and …
Net Neutrality Day of Action: Why Not in Europe?
Net Neutrality is the concept that everyone should have equal access to all online content (email, video, music, websites) without Internet providers being able to throttle, block, or discriminate against …
New Cyberattacks in Germany: The Elephant Is Already in The Room
The Romans were shouting “Hannibal at the gates” when the famous general from Carthage tried to conquer their city with elephants in 218 BC. Today’s cyber-warriors and cyber-criminals are already …
EU-U.S. Privacy Shield: First Lessons Learned
As reported, the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) launched its self-certification system of the Privacy Shield (PS) on 1 August. The NTIA’s website provides a host of information for …
EU-U.S. Privacy Shield: Soon Open for Business
The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield—the successor to the invalidated Safe Harbor program for transatlantic transfers of EU personal data—was finally approved on July 12, 2016. U.S. organizations will be able to …
USA: Gegenwärtige FCC und FTC-Aktivitäten zum Schutz der Privacy
Die Federal Trade Commission (FTC) und die Federal Communications Commission (FCC) haben am 10.05.16 zwei getrennte Untersuchungsverfahren gegen bestimmte TK-Anbieter und Hersteller von Smartphones etc. eingeleitet. Die US-Behörden wollen wissen, …
Privacy Shield for U.S. Data Transfers: Back to the Drawing Board
The European Commission may need to revise the draft proposal to meet the concerns expressed by the Article 29 Working Party. On 29 February 2016, the European Commission published a …
EU/U.S. Data Flows: New Privacy Shield List
U.S. Data Importers Need to Understand What They Are Getting Into. There was a resounding call for action by regulators and industry and the legal documents are now out in …
