Claim OwnershipThe Privacy Partnership Podcast with Robert Bateman
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© 2026 The Privacy Partnership Podcast with Robert Bateman
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Robert Bateman provides the latest on data protection and privacy, with regular solo news updates and short-form interviews. Brought to you by Privacy Partnership: www.privacypartnership.com
29 Episodes
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In this episode of the Privacy and Partnership podcast, Rob discusses a significant ruling from the CJEU regarding WhatsApp's legal challenge against the European Data Protection Board (EDPB). The CJEU's decision allows companies to directly challenge binding decisions made by the EDPB. Rob explores the implications of this ruling, particularly how it affects the relationship between tech companies and regulatory bodies, and the potential for increased litigation against the EDPB.
Rob discusses the recent letter from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to UK government officials, highlighting the ICO's focus on economic growth and innovation. The ICO plans a statutory code of practice for AI and an "experimentation regime" for data protection. There will also be a review of low-risk online advertising activities, and new support for SMEs.
On Data Protection Day 2026, Rob talks us briefly through the history of data protection in the UK: From the "data users" of the Data Protection Act 1984 to the "recognised legitimate interests" of last year's Data (Use and Access) Act.
Along with plans to "simplify" the GDPR, there's an AI Digital Omnibus that proposes amendments to the AI Act. In a new Joint Opinion, the EDPB and EDPS say they support the objective to simplify the law, but they don't seem to like any of the Commission's ideas. For example, they don't like the Commission's proposal to allow bias detection processing for all AI systems (Article 4a). Under the AI Act as it stands, providers of high-risk systems can process special category data if "strict...
Rob looks at the ICO’s newly released guidance on international transfers and what it means for UK privacy professionals. • The “Three-Step Test” for identifying restricted transfers • Why UK processors returning data to overseas controllers are no longer “initiating” transfers • Clarifications on transfers between branches and employees within the same legal entity • How the guidance incorporates the Data (Use and Access) Act while retaining “TRA” terminology • The distinction between legal ...
The ICO and the UK Government have come to an understanding: "No surprises", "supportive challenge", and a seat at the table for the Commissioner. A Memorandum of Understanding signed today between the ICO and the UK Government formalises an already pretty cosy relationship between the regulator and its largest stakeholder. While the MoU explicitly preserves the ICO's independenceit leans heavily on collaboration over confrontation. Both parties have agreed to a "free flow of informatio...
Time for the Privacy Partnership Podcast Christmas Special, where Rob looks at his top 5 data protection CJEU judgments for 2025. Here's the list of cases I summarise in this podcast, which span data transfers, non-material damages, data minimisation, and more: 1. Bindl v European Commission 8 January 2025 Case T‑354/22 2. Mousse v CNIL (Mousse v Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés and SNCF Connect) 9 January 2025 Case C‑394/23 3. CK v Magistrat der Stadt Wien (...
The CJEU will soon hear the Belgian DPA's case against FATCA, the tax treaty that results in the systematic bulk transfer of data about thousands of "Accidental Americans" to the IRS. FATCA is a US law intended to prevent US citizens from hiding assets in foreign banks. But it also hits "Accidental Americans"—people who might have been born in the US and acquired a US passport, but have very little connection to the country. Under an intergovernmental agreement (IGA), the Belgian state reg...
Did the CJEU just use the GDPR to junk the intermediary liability exemption and impose a general monitoring obligation? Here's a look at yesterday's Russmedia judgment. The facts are pretty grim: "X" saw an ad on an Russmedia's online marketplace falsely promoting her as a sex worker. She reported it, Russmedia took it down, but the ad had already been scraped and copied on other sites. X sued Russmedia, which predictably said it was just an intermediary service and not liable for the content...
A coalition of organisations and experts sent an open letter calling for a Parliamentary inquiry into the performance of the UK ICO. What's the problem, and will this work? Full disclosure: I was asked to sign this letter, but I decided against it. Many people I know and respect are on the list of signatories, and while there's some stuff in here I'm not 100% behind, I think it makes some decent points. But I generally just don't sign open letters. This document makes some pretty scathing...
In this episode of the Privacy Partnership Podcast, Rob walks you through the most important aspects of the proposed Digital Omnibus Regulation. • A new Article 88c states that processing of personal data for the development and operation of AI systems may be pursued for legitimate interests (p85). • A new condition under Article 9 allows the processing of special category data for AI training if state-of-the-art security is used and the data is subsequently removed or anonymised (p79)....
"Death by a thousand cuts?" That's what the leaked Digital Omnibus proposals represent to the GDPR, according to noyb.eu. Here's a look at some of the most significant ideas, from the new definition of "personal data" to the narrowing of Article 9. -- Note: This is an unconfirmed internal draft from the Commission’s DG CONNECT and not an official proposal. It may change substantially before it’s formally presented, and we’re expecting that to happen on 19 November. Some say this d...
The ICO is offering up to 40% off UK GDPR fines under its new draft Data Protection Enforcement Procedural Guidance. Here's how to take advantage of this special deal! The draft guidance updates the ICO's Regulatory Action Plan, which has been in place since 2018. There are two particularly interesting bits: - New teeth available to the ICO under the Data (Use and Access) Act (DUAA), should it choose to bite with them - A formal proposed settlement process Now the ICO has settled case...
The DPC's TikTok decision is not that surprising if you understand the law, but it's actually a pretty huge deal to see this play out in reality. Are most international data transfers de facto illegal? TikTok enabled remote access to EEA users' personal data in China, purportedly for purposes like maintenance and user support. The DPC said: Remote access is a transfer. Not really surprising based on the post-Schrems II EDPB recommendations. TikTok encrypted the data in transit and at re...
The EDPB just published its opinion on the UK's adequacy decision and it's pretty critical of the country's post-Brexit direction on data protection. But does the EDPB's opinion matter? Probably not—directly, at least. The Commission's draft adequacy decision now goes to a vote at the Comitology Committee and is very unlikely to be voted down, despite the EDPB's reservations. But the opinion might provide some ammunition in potential future political or legal challenges to the UK's "adequate"...
What is going on between Clearview AI and the ICO? Actions against Clearview have been a test of how far digital regulation actually has extraterritorial effect. This month, we got an answer on this from the UK’s Upper Tribunal, and it’s an important judgment about the territorial reach of the UK GDPR—at least on paper. In May 2022, the ICO fined Clearview AI £7.5 million and ordered it to delete the data of UK residents. Clearview appealed. Then, in a quite surprising move in October 2...
Discord's recent data breach exposed photo IDs used to verify users' ages. Should we blame the Online Safety Act, the Children's Code, or the UK GDPR? It's complicated. (Please excuse the unsightly cut on my forehead in this one). While this breach probably just boils down to vendor security, I wanted to consider whether Discord was obliged to collect users' ID documents, and whether it should have been retaining them. This story does involve some competing obligations under the OSA and t...
Tractor Supply: The first CCPA case about job applicants' privacy (and the largest CPPA settlement yet). Don't forget: Unlike other states, California's privacy law applies to data about employees and job applicants. Tractor Supply settled for $1.35 million for failing to tell job applicants about their rights (among other, more commonplace violations—GPC, Do Not Sell, the usual stuff). The company provided a "notice at collection" telling applicants what types of data it collected and wh...
LinkedIn's AI training settings don't affect all users equally. Did you notice that LinkedIn will share UK users' data with Microsoft, but not EEA users? In this video, Rob looks at the background, the broader context, and the details. LinkedIn first floated the idea of training its AI models on users' personal data last summer and has since encountered several bumps in the road. Complaints were submitted to regulators in Ireland and the UK, and the company responded by putting th...
The ICO has yet MORE draft guidance, this time on the UK's upcoming changes to the law on cookies (etc). At the same time, it's running a "call for views" about whether it should enforce that law in certain contexts. The updated cookies guidance includes a new chapter on the consent exceptions provided by the Data Use and Access Act (DUAA). We also get new material reflecting the ICO's view that a "Reject" option should be accessible on the first layer of your cookie banner. There's als...
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