Data Protection

On February 11, 2026, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) (jointly, the Authorities) issued a Joint Opinion on the European Commission’s proposed Digital Omnibus Regulation (Digital Omnibus). This follows their Joint Opinion of January 20, 2026 on the Digital Omnibus on AI.

The Digital Omnibus, as with the other “omnibuses” released by the Commission, aims to streamline several EU laws, reduce administrative burdens for covered entities, and enhance competitiveness in the EU. Once adopted, it should reshape how organizations handle personal data generally, including in relation to AI development, scientific research, and incident reporting. The Authorities welcome efforts to simplify and to promote consistent interpretations of key concepts found in the GDPR, the ePrivacy Directive, the NIS2 Directive, and the remaining Data Acquis. At the same time, they caution that this initiative launched by the Commission must not weaken fundamental rights protections, including data protection.

Below is an overview of the Authorities’ positions. It covers only the key amendments discussed in our previous blog post on the Digital Omnibus.Continue Reading EU Regulators Issue Opinion on Revisions of GDPR and Other Data Laws

On December 2, 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) issued a decision clarifying the obligations of online marketplace operators with regard to content posted on their platform, where such content includes personal data.  This blogpost provides an overview of the decision and its key takeaways.Continue Reading CJEU Clarifies Responsibilities Of Online Marketplace Operators

On September 24, 2025, Covington’s tech industry experts explored what legal teams, government affairs professionals, and business leaders at tech companies need to know during this pivotal period and offered insights into anticipated challenges and emerging opportunities in the year ahead. Eight Covington attorneys shared their insights during a 60-minute session moderated by Covington partner Holly Fechner. Key takeaways from the Forum are outlined below.Continue Reading Covington Tech Briefing Spotlight: Impact of Latest Policy Developments on the Tech Industry

On October 14, 2025, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) announced that its 2026 coordinated enforcement action (“CEA”) will focus on transparency and information obligations — the rules that require organizations to clearly explain how they collect, use, and share personal data — under Articles 12-14 of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).Continue Reading EDPB to Focus on Transparency in 2026 Enforcement

Over the past few months, Chinese regulators have taken steps to update the country’s cybersecurity framework, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence (AI) safety and clarifying incident reporting obligations for onshore infrastructure. These developments reflect a broader trend toward more proactive AI and cyber governance and could signal priorities for the year ahead.Continue Reading China Amends Cybersecurity Law and Incident Reporting Regime to Address AI and Infrastructure Risks

On September 17, 2025, the German Supervisory Authorities (Konferenz der unabhängigen Datenschutzaufsichtsbehörden des Bundes und der Länder, DSK) published new guidelines and recommendations addressing the complex requirements for transferring personal data, particularly health data (including health data contained in biomaterials), to countries outside of the European Economic Area for scientific research purposes under the GDPR. These guidelines may be of particular relevance for pharmaceutical, medical device, and other life sciences companies that conduct clinical research.Continue Reading New German Guidelines on GDPR Requirements for International Transfers of Health Data in Medical Research

In late September, plaintiffs announced details regarding Google LLC’s (“Google”) and women’s health app developer, Flo Health Inc.’s (“Flo”) proposed settlements to resolve a class action lawsuit stemming from the Flo app’s allegedly unlawful sharing of health data with Google and others through online tracking technologies.

As part of the proposed settlements, Google agreed to pay $48 million and Flo agreed to pay $8 million, for a combined $56 million to resolve plaintiffs’ claims against these two entities.Continue Reading Flo Health, Google Settle Class Action Privacy Lawsuit for $56 Million

On September 16, 2025, the European Commission launched a call for evidence to collect feedback and best practices on simplifying several key areas of the EU digital rulebook, ahead of its planned Digital Omnibus package. This initiative targets legislation related to data, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, aiming to reduce administrative burdens and compliance costs for businesses while preserving high standards of fairness, security, and privacy online.Continue Reading Commission Collects Feedback to Simplify Rules on Data, Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence in Upcoming Digital Omnibus

The EU e-evidence Regulation and Directive, which establish a regime for law enforcement authorities (“LEAs”) in one Member State to issue legally-binding demands for data from certain types of providers established in other Member States, will come into effect on 18 August 2026 (our post on the specific requirements of the Regulation and Directive is available here). On 28 July 2025, the European Commission adopted an Implementing Regulation (“IR”) setting out the technical specifications for the decentralized communications system that LEAs and covered service providers must use when, among other things, issuing and responding to European Production Orders (“EPOs”) and European Preservation Orders (“EPrOs”) under the e-evidence Regulation.Continue Reading European Commission adopts technical standards for the decentralized communication system to be used under the forthcoming e-evidence Regulation

In a new post on the Covington Inside Privacy blog, our colleagues provide an overview of the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) $45 million settlement with online lead generator MediaAlpha, Inc. and its subsidiary QuoteLab, LLC (collectively, “MediaAlpha”), resolving allegations that the companies, among other things, tricked consumers into sharing sensitive…

Continue Reading FTC Takes Aim at Online Lead Generator