EU Skepticism About The Privacy Shield—On May 30, 2016, European Data Protection Supervisor Giovanni Buttarelli, in his capacity as an independent advisor to the EU legislator, issued a statement that “the Privacy Shield as it stands is not robust enough to withstand future legal scrutiny.”  The Privacy Shield, which will considered for ratification by the EU this June, was negotiated by the United States and the European Commission as a replacement for the Safe Harbor Framework, which the Court of Justice of the European Union had invalidated last year as a legal mechanism for transferring EU personal data to the United States.  While Mr. Buttarelli’s statement is not binding, when considered in combination with similar concerns expressed in April by the Article 29 Working Group―an advisory group of European privacy regulators for the European Commission―his statements suggest that the Privacy Shield is facing heavy headwinds and may need to be sent back for renegotiation before it can be ratified.

Following Spokeo, Maryland Court Dismisses Data Breach Action For Lack Of Standing—On May 27, 2016, a federal district court in Maryland dismissed a data breach class action for lack of standing.  In Chambliss v. CareFirst, Inc., Civ. Action No. RDB-15-2288 (D. Md. May 27, 2016), the court held that the plaintiff and putative class lacked standing to maintain causes of action based on alleged injuries of (i) increased risk of future harm, (ii) mitigation costs, (iii) benefit of the bargain loss, and (iv) decreased value of personal information.  Thus, the plaintiffs' complaint, which asserted causes of action under tort and statutory claims under Maryland law, was dismissed.  Chambliss is the second decision in as many weeks from that district court dismissing a putative data breach class action for lack of standing; on May 19, 2016, in Khan v. Children's Nat'l Health System, 2016 WL 2946165 (D. Md. May 19, 2016), the court dismissed a class action complaint arising from a data breach at a children's hospital. For a copy of the Chambliss decision, please click here.