On 16 March 2016, the Advocate General (AG) delivered an Opinion, in McFadden v Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH Case-484/14, that a business offering free WiFi access to the public cannot be held liable for copyright infringement committed by a user of that WiFI. The decision confirms the applicability of the E-Commerce Directive, and the “mere conduit” defence, to free WiFi providers.Continue Reading WiFi providers not liable for copyright infringement by users
Justice
Regin – State Sponsored Hacking
By Conor McEneaney on
Posted in Cyber Risk & Data Privacy
On November 23rd, Symantec, the American antivirus company, announced the discovery of a piece of software called Regin, which it had found lurking on computers and stealing data in Ireland, Russia, Saudi Arabia and several other countries. Its sophistication and stealth led Symantec to conclude that it must have been created by a nation-state.
The Regin software appears to have been lurking on some computer systems from as long ago as 2008 and Symantec said it was unusually low-key, meaning it could be used on a target for several years before being noticed. Symantec have described the purpose of Regin…
CJEU rules that the Data Retention Directive is invalid
By Davinia Brennan on
Posted in Cyber Risk & Data Privacy
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that the Data Retention Directive 2006/24/EC (Directive) is invalid.
The Irish High Court (in Digital Rights Ireland Ltd v Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources & Ors C-293/12) and the Austrian Constitutional Court (in Kärntner Landesregierung, Michael Seitlinger, Christof Tschohl and others, C 594/12), asked the CJEU to examine the validity of the Directive.Continue Reading CJEU rules that the Data Retention Directive is invalid