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- Kristof Van Quathem
Kristof Van Quathem advises clients on data protection, data security and cybercrime matters in various sectors, and in particular in the pharmaceutical and information technology sector. Mr. Van Quathem has been specializing in this area for over fifteen years and covers the entire spectrum of advising clients on government affairs strategies concerning the lawmaking, to compliance advice on the adopted laws regulations and guidelines, and the representation of clients in non-contentious and contentious matters before data protection authorities.
- Advising various companies on the development and deployment of Binding Corporate Rules and other transfer mechanisms.
- Advising a wide range of pharmaceutical companies on sector-related data protection compliance in complex regulatory settings, such as in clinical trials, registries, biobanks, pharmacovigilance, e-health platforms and health apps.
- Advising large Internet and communication technology companies on compliance with European data protection, interception and cybersecurity laws in advanced ICT architectures, including on big data projects, online television, behavioral advertising and platforms, and other cutting edge technological developments.
- Advising the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) with respect to its compliance with European data privacy laws and in connection with its global administration and management of athlete anti-doping procedures.
- Advising global brands on their marketing strategies, compliance infrastructure and security breach response strategies.
- Assisting clients in balancing data protection considerations against competing interest, for example, in the area of e-discovery, employee monitoring, FCPA due diligence and sanctions lists.
- Assisting clients in obtaining licenses for exports of dual-use goods and otherwise restricted exports.
June 25, 2020, Inside Privacy
On June 24, 2020, the European Commission (“Commission”) published its much-anticipated assessment of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) two years after it went into effect. The assessment takes into account contributions from the European Council, the European Parliament, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”), individual supervisory ...
French Council of State Decides that the French Supervisory Authority Cannot Prohibit Cookie Walls
June 24, 2020, Inside Privacy
On June 19, 2020, the French Council of State (Conseil d’État) decided that the French Supervisory Authority (“CNIL”) had gone too far in its guidance on cookies and similar technologies when it stated that conditioning a user’s access to a website upon his or her acceptance of certain cookies (commonly known as “cookie walls”) is...… Continue Reading
June 11, 2020, Inside Privacy
On June 8, 2020, the Belgian Supervisory Authority (“SA”) fined a (then ex-) politician €5,000 for sending political marketing materials without an appropriate legal basis. Although the fine was not massive, the case is interesting for another reason: the complaint was brought not by the individuals who received the marketing materials, but by their ...
June 10, 2020, Inside Privacy
On May 25, 2020, the second anniversary of the GDPR, the Belgian Supervisory Authority (“SA”) released an overview of its first full year of activity (available in French here, and in Dutch here). To be clear, this was not a delay in reporting, but rather shows that the Belgian legislature was late in creating its...… Continue Reading
June 9, 2020, Inside Privacy
On June 2, 2020, the French Supervisory Authority (“CNIL”) published a paper on algorithmic discrimination prepared by the French independent administrative authority known as “Défenseur des droits”. The paper is divided into two parts: the first part discusses how algorithms can lead to discriminatory outcomes, and the second part includes recommendations on ...
German Federal Agencies Publish Privacy and IT Security Requirements for Digital Health Applications
May 7, 2020, Inside Privacy
On April 21, 2020, the Regulation on the Requirements and Reimbursement Process for Digital Health Applications (Digitale Gesundheitsanwendungen-Verordnung or „DiGAV“, available here) entered into force in Germany. Among other provisions, the DiGAV includes specific IT security and privacy requirements. Shortly after the law took effect, Germany’s Federal ...
May 1, 2020, Inside Privacy
On April 28, 2020, the Dutch Supervisory Authority (“Dutch SA”) announced its decision to impose a fine of €725,000 on a company for unlawfully processing the biometric data of its employees. In 2018, the company concerned installed an access and time management system that collected and processed biometric templates of employees’ fingerprints. This initiative ...
April 27, 2020, Inside Privacy
On April 21, 2020, the European Data Protection Board (“Board”) issued guidelines on the processing of personal data for scientific research related to COVID-19. The Board indicates that the GDPR takes into account the needs of scientific research and should not be a barrier to conduct such research, while at the same time, it helps...… Continue Reading
April 25, 2020, Inside Privacy
On April 21, 2020, the French Supervisory Authority (“CNIL”) launched a public consultation on the rights of minors in the digital services. The consultation is open until June 1, 2020. The CNIL will use the contributions it receives to prepare recommendations in this area. Under the French Data Protection Law, minors over 15 years old...… Continue Reading
April 10, 2020, Inside Privacy
On April 9, 2020, the German Supervisory Authority of Baden-Wuerttemberg published standard contractual clauses for data processors pursuant to Article 28(8) GDPR. It is the first German Supervisory Authority to do so, and the second in EU after the Danish Supervisory Authority published its own standard clauses in July 2019. However, while the Danish ...
December 20, 2019, Covington Alert
On December 19, 2019, Advocate General (“AG”) Henrik Saugmandsgaard Øe handed down his Opinion in Case C-311/18, Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland and Maximillian Schrems (“Schrems II”). The AG’s Opinion provides non-binding guidance to the Court of Justice of the EU (“CJEU”) on how to decide the case.
November 7, 2019, Inside EU Life Sciences
On November 5, 2019, the European Commission published a report entitled “Strengthening Strategic Value Chains for a future-ready EU Industry”, which was prepared by the Strategic Forum on Important Projects of Common European Interest (“Forum”). The Forum assists the European Commission in identifying key strategic value chains that can contribute to Europe’s ...
EU Cookie Ruling Tightens Leash On Ad Tech Staple
October 9, 2019, Law360
Kristof Van Quathem is quoted in Law360 regarding a European Court of Justice’s decision to increase web cookie consent measures. Mr. Van Quathem says, “It’s unfortunate that the court didn’t address that point because it’s commercially and politically a very sensitive topic, on which there is a lot of uncertainty right now, and it’s a question that could have ...
July 17, 2019, Covington Alert
On July 9, 2019, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) heard oral argument in Case C-311/18, Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland and Maximillian Schrems (“Schrems II”). The primary question before the ECJ is whether the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses (“SCCs”) are valid for transfers of personal data to the United States.1 Given ...
Covington Represents BSA in Landmark Data Protection Case Before Europe's Highest Court
July 9, 2019
BRUSSELS—Today, a team of Covington lawyers argued before the European Court of Justice in a landmark data protection case, Case C-311/18, Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland and Maximillian Schrems (“Schrems II”). The case has significant ramifications for any organization that relies on the standard contractual clauses (“SCCs”) to transfer personal ...
June 2019, Pharmind
February 18, 2019, Inside EU Life Sciences
As with anything personalized, be it advertising, medicines or training schedules, also personalized nutrition — using information on individual characteristics to develop targeted nutritional advice, products, or services — risks being affected by the feared GDPR. Kristof Van Quathem discusses the topic in Vitafoods’ Insights magazine of January 2019, ...
February 12, 2019, Inside EU Life Sciences
The European Data Protection Board (“Board”) released an opinion on January 23, 2019, on the intersection between the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and the Clinical Trials Regulation (“CTR”). The opinion considers a Q&A on this topic prepared by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health. The Directorate General decided to create ...
January 22, 2019, Covington Alert
On January 21, 2019, the French Supervisory Authority for data protection (“CNIL”) issued a fine of €50 million against Google for violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) (the decision was published in French here).
October 22, 2018, Inside EU Life Sciences
On October 22, 2018, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries in cooperation with the Future of Privacy Forum and the Center for Information Policy Leadership organized a workshop entitled “Can GDPR Work for Health Research.” In the first session, the workshop discussed the implications of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) on clinical ...
How Can We Make Best Use of Health Data?
June 14, 2018, Financial Times
Kristof Van Quathem participated in a Financial Times podcast to discuss the impact of the General Data Protection Regulation on medical research and health technology companies. According to Van Quathem, "One of the main concerns I think that we see in the research circle is the uncertainty that is being created by the GDPR, and in particular, when it comes to ...
April 18, 2018, Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence
January 22, 2018
WASHINGTON—Covington advised Bacardi Limited in its definitive agreement to acquire Patrón Spirits International AG and its PATRÓN® brand, the world’s top-selling ultra-premium tequila, from John Paul DeJoria, a founder of Patrón. The transaction reflects an enterprise value for Patrón of $5.1 billion. The transaction follows the successful relationship the ...
5 Cybersecurity And Privacy Policies To Watch In 2018
January 1, 2018, Law360
Kristof Van Quathem and Yan Luo are quoted in a Law360 article regarding cybersecurity and privacy policies to watch in 2018. Commenting on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Van Quathem says that although one of the legislation's aims is to harmonize a splintered set of national data privacy laws within Europe, it may end up causing companies aiming ...
Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Policy: Issues associated with collecting vast amounts of data and developing AI platforms
November 28, 2017, IoT Data & AI Summit
April 26, 2017, Inside EU Life Sciences
The EU pharmaceutical industry landscape is in significant flux. There are many pressures to provide new therapies and to make them available more early and for as many qualifying patients as possible. In that context, the industry model and the role of exclusivity rights as a tool to stimulate innovation are being discussed. At the...… Continue Reading
December 21, 2015, Covington Alert
On December 15, the EU institutions finally agreed the text of the new EU data protection law, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), completing a process that began in January 2012. The LIBE committee has published the consolidated version of the GDPR text. The GDPR heralds a new era of data protection. It replaces the existing data protection ...
October 6, 2015, InsidePrivacy Blog
April 24, 2014, Inside EU Life Sciences
This post was originally published on our sister blog Inside Privacy On April 10, 2014, the Article 29 Working Party adopted an Opinion on anonymization techniques. The Working Party accepts that anonymization techniques can help individuals and society reap the benefits of “open data” initiatives – initiatives intended to make various types of data more freely ...
2006, World Data Protection Report
Etude sur les projets culturels éligibles aux fonds structurels de l’union européenne
1998, European Parliament
Covington Represents BSA in Landmark Data Protection Case Before Europe's Highest Court
The case has significant ramifications for any organization that relies on the standard contractual clauses (“SCCs”) to transfer personal data from the EU to countries around the world.