Publications

The number of data breaches continued to rise dramatically in 2023, more and more companies are placing cybersecurity at the top of their priority list.
In 2023, the average cost of a data breach has reached a record high (once more). In addition to those costs and reputational damage, companies should also be wary of the penalties that can be imposed.
In this edition of the newsletter of our Pangea DICL team, we focus on the consequential world of data protection, shedding light on noteworthy sanctions and rulings by data protection authorities regarding insufficient technical and organisational measures to ensure information security.

It would be impossible to ignore the rise of AI over the past few months – with ChatGPT taking most of the headlines but facing competition from Google’s Bard and from Amazon and Facebook’s own AI offers.
With AI taking the headlines of the day it’s easy to forget about some of the other news stories that were (and may yet be) the next big thing, whether that be the continued evolution of the GDPR, the rise of the Metaverse or the implementation of new laws around digital services.
It’s a challenging time to be a data lawyer – with lots of potential distractions. In this issue we’ve picked up various of these ongoing themes, taking the perspective of different jurisdictions

In a few weeks, we will finally meet again, after more than two years of a forced break. We, from the Board and our friends from Babiaczyk Skrocki I Wspolnicy, were so relieved to see that the virus wave is finally diminishing, which comforted us in our decision to maintain a physical AGM in Poznan, Poland. And then the war started… This year’s AGM seems to be defying all odds. I know that, to some of you, the mere idea of having a fun time while Europe – and Poland in particular – is hosting millions of Ukrainian refugees may seem inadequate. I am convinced, however, that even under these dramatic circumstances, this meeting makes a lot of sense. You may want to look at it this way: the AGM is – after all – a place where people from many countries gather peacefully with open hearts, exchange their views, open their minds to those of the other network members.

The 25 May 2022 marks the fourth anniversary of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) coming into force. In this newsletter, the Pangea DICL team reflects on key trends across 10 of jurisdictions (Poland, Ireland, Switzerland, Italy, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Austria, Belgium, Germany and Croatia) in particular looking ahead to issues that are coming into focus (cookies, cloud services, video surveillance and services of facial recognition, etc.).

What a start it has been into 2020… with this mind-blowing AGM in India – my head is full of joy when I think of the time we had in Delhi and Agra. A great thank you and a big applause one more time to Pankaj and his team from ILG India! And what a dramatic shift it took as of March… My fair guess is that it was a challenging year for all of us, both from a professional and personal point of view.

We dedicated this 3rd newsletter to GDPR enforcement in our jurisdictions and block chain technology and its implications in the second half of this year.

This newsletter deals with the topic of Advertising Technology (« AdTech »). AdTech software enables companies to effectively advertise online and to address (potential) customers in a targeted manner, making it an important part of corporate marketing today. Digital marketing measures include search engine optimization, the analysis of user behavior on websites, and the placement of personalized online advertising, as well as the distribution of e-mails with advertising content.

The Pangea Practice Group for Data, Information and Cyber Law, have chosen to devote its first newsletter to the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the first text of direct applicability throughout the European Union in digital matters. This biannual newsletter is an information tool that the Pangea Net network makes available to all its clients, partners and contacts in order to share its practical analyses and feedback from around the world.

Through the hard work of prior Board Members and all of our members firms, Pangea Net is situated today as a very strong and vibrant organization with: coverage in over 26 jurisdictions, hundreds of local legal experts with an international flair and an exceptional multidisciplinary offering. Ever since I’ve been a member of the Board, Pangea Net has been growing. Starting as – and still – mainly European network at heart, we have a true global vision and strive to be a truly global network.

Wow, our 10 year anniversary – where did that come from? It seems like only yesterday that Georg, Franz, Andreas, Roberto, Peter and I were sat in a pub in London discussing the possibility of setting up our own network; just look at where we are today! I am immensely proud of how the network has grown and developed since 2009. We couldn’t have done it without you, our members, and so I wanted to express my personal thanks to you all in making this network such a success!

This past year has been one of looking inward for Pangea Net and assessing the ways in which we can improve and strengthen the network. ln particular, the board has been focussed on exploring cross­jurisdictional business development opportunities and increasing referrals between member firms. ln many ways we consider this to be the key to ensuring the future of the network

lt is a pleasure to once again introduce a document, which sets out a summary of some of the highlights and key achievements within the network over the past 12 months. Following last year’s report, the network continues to grow and evolve. With an established and proactive membership, it is encouraging to see so much activity taking place in the network. ln particular, the network’s practice groups go from strength to strength and a number of network members have been involved in secondments and exchanges.

It’s incredible to believe that we are no approaching our eighth AGM and this is the second edition Pangea Net’s Annual Report. I was delighted to receive such a positive response to last year’s report which was very much a “first attempt”. The Board would really like to build on the concept going forward and hope that you find this year’s edition to be equally interesting, if not more so.