The Washington Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Old Navy LLC, 4 Wash.3d 580 (2025) has sparked a wave of putative class actions under Washington’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act (“CEMA”), targeting allegedly misleading email subject lines used by national retailers. In the months since, defendants have increasingly turned to constitutional and federal preemption defenses in
Inside Privacy
Updates on developments in data privacy and cybersecurity
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EU Court Defines Limits to the GDPR Right of Access
On March 19, 2026, the CJEU issued its judgment in the Brillen Rottler case (C‑526/24). The case concerns the GDPR right of access and the conditions for claiming damages. In the underlying facts, an Austrian individual subscribed to Brillen Rottler’s newsletter and, two weeks later, exercised his right of access. The shopkeeper rejected the request…
MEPs Adopt Joint Position on Proposed Digital Omnibus on AI
On 18 March 2026, the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (“IMCO”) and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (“LIBE”) adopted their joint negotiating position on the European Commission’s proposed Digital Omnibus on AI (which we previously analysed here). The position will now proceed to a plenary…
Italian DPA Fines Bank over the Transfer of Customer Data in the Context of a Corporate Transaction
On March 12, 2026, the Italian Data Protection (“Garante”) adopted a decision concerning the transfer of personal data of banking customers from Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. (the “Bank”) to Isybank S.p.A., a newly established digital bank within the same corporate group. The Garante found that the Bank’s processing in connection with the transfer of approximately 2.4…
FTC Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Rulemaking for Unfair or Deceptive Rental Housing Fee Practices
On March 12, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”) seeking public comment on a proposed rulemaking focusing on potential unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the rental housing market. This ANPRM contemplates requiring landlords and property managers to provide full, upfront disclosure of all mandatory charges…
UK Government Launches Consultation on Children’s Online Experiences, Including New Obligations for AI
On March 2, 2026, the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (“DSIT”) launched its consultation, titled “Growing up in the online world: a national conversation”. The consultation is open until 26 May 2026, after which the government will publish a summary of responses and its proposed approach. DSIT has indicated that it intends to…
CalPrivacy Fines PlayOn Sports for Insufficient Opt-Out Process
On February 27, 2026, CalPrivacy and PlayOn settled a CCPA claim for $1.1 million. PlayOn is a digital ticketing platform used by schools and other organizations for ticketing, streaming, fundraising, concessions, merchandise sales, and website management. The settlement resolves allegations that PlayOn unlawfully “sold” and “shared” users’ personal information without providing sufficient opt-outs and notice,…
FTC Negative Option Rule ANPRM
On March 11, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “the Commission”) announced an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”) regarding its Rule Concerning the Use of Prenotification Negative Option Plans, commonly known as the Negative Option Rule (“the Rule”). This ANPRM signals the beginning of a rulemaking process that will expand the scope of…
Spanish Supervisory Authority Issues Detailed Guidance on Agentic AI and GDPR Compliance
In February 2026, the Spanish data protection authority (Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, “AEPD”) published guidance on data protection issues related to the use of AI agents. The guidance follows an earlier, similar analysis by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, which we discussed in a prior blog post.
Helpfully, AEPD’s guidance maps key…
France’s Highest Administrative Court Upholds CNIL’s Standard On Anonymization
On February 13, 2026, France’s highest administrative court (“Conseil d’État”) delivered an important decision clarifying the boundary between pseudonymization and anonymization under the GDPR. The ruling confirms that data which remain re‑identifiable in practice—even with some effort—must be treated as personal data under the GDPR by service providers, unless the risk of re‑identification by such…