The ICO Release New Code to Protect Children’s Privacy Online
The new code, released by the Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK, is aimed at social media sites, online games and streaming services commonly used by children. It aims to protect children’s privacy online with standards such as:
- Location settings switched to off by default
- Privacy settings set to high by default and nudge technique to encourage children to weaken their settings should not be used.
The ICO hopes the code of conduct will be enshrined in law by autumn 2020, with large fines for breaches.
DLA Piper Survey Reports Over 160,000 Data Breach Notifications
DLA Piper released their GDPR Data Breach Survey 2020, showing that there had been 160,000 data breach notifications reported across the 28 EU member states, as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein since the GDPR came into force in May 2018.
The Netherlands reported the most data breaches, followed by Germany, and the UK.
Hong Kong Strengthens Privacy Laws
Tougher penalties for data protection failures are among the proposed amendments to Hong Kong’s Personal Data Ordinance, after the poor handling of Cathay Pacific’s major data breach in 2018.
Fines would mirror the GDPR and be applicable as a percentage of a company’s annual turnover. Additionally, companies would be legally obliged to report data breaches to the privacy commissioner within five days and the definition of personal data would be broadened
Google to Phase Out Third-Party Cookies by 2022
Google made the commitment in a blog post written by Chrome Engineering Director, Justin Schuh. Google is the third major browser to make this move, following in the footsteps in Safari and Firefox, who have already blocked third-party cookies in recent years.
The decision has been met with scepticism from advertisers and privacy advocates alike.