Beyond our Shores - November

This is the ODPA's monthly round-up of data-related developments from around the world.

On 1 November, Texas sued TikTok, accusing the social media platform of violating children's privacy and state law by sharing children's personal identifying information without consent from their parents or legal guardians:  Texas sues TikTok for violating children's privacy | Reuters

On 2 November, The Guardian reported that the Conservative party has been told to improve its data handling by the ICO after releasing a “tax calculator” that also appeared to be collecting voter data: Tories warned by watchdog over ‘tax calculator’ that appeared to collect voter data

On 4 November, Cancer Trials Ireland blamed a reduction in clinical trials in the country on the administrative burden from a rigid approach to GDPR: Confusion around GDPR means 'few clinical trials take place in Ireland’, conference will hear

On 5 November, The South Korean government ordered Meta to pay 21.62 billion won ($15.67 million) for collecting sensitive data and providing it to advertisers without consent: South Korea fines Meta about $15 million over collection of user data

On 5 November, the BBC reported that a company with alleged links to Russia which had details of thousands of people’s DNA had disappeared without trace: I gave my DNA to tracking company - then it vanished - BBC News

On 10 November, the Times reported that UK Ministers were considering a bill that would ban children under 16 from using social media. The bill would raise the age at which social media companies would be allowed to collect data on children: The plan to ban children under 16 from social media

On 11 November, the Guardian reported that “tech leaders’ politics are encoded into their platforms – and with Trump’s ascent, they have direct access to the Oval Office”: First came the bots, then came the bosses - we’re entering Musk and Zuck’s new era of disinformation | Joan Donovan | The Guardian

On 11 November, Nirmalya Chaudhuri wrote for the Oxford Human Rights Hub on the denial of children’s agency under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, which makes parental consent mandatory for processing the data of those aged under 18: “The Parent Knows Best”: (Over)Protection of Children in the Data Protection Framework in India

On 11 November, one of the first copyright cases to be brought by news publishers against OpenAI was dismissed by a judge: Two news outlets lose copyright claim against OpenAI over scraping of content - Press Gazette

On 17 November, Sky News science and technology reporter Mickey Carroll investigated the ‘X exodus’ following the US election and changes to the algorithm:  The X exodus - could Bluesky spike spark end of Elon Musk's social media platform? | Science, Climate & Tech News | Sky News

On 20 November, On World Children’s Day, Guernsey’s Bailiwick Express published an interview with an 8-year-old boy determined to raise awareness around children’s rights and why they are so important:  La Houguette pupil rallies the media | Bailiwick Express

On 22 November, Italy's data protection authority fined a food delivery app 5 million euros for unlawfully processing the personal data of more than 35,000 riders registered on its digital platform: Italy watchdog fines Foodinho 5 million euros for rider data breaches

On 28 November, Australia’s senate passed a new law banning children from social media Australian social media ban on under-16s approved by Senate - BBC News

On 28 November, the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom released its annual publication that looks at what people are doing online, how they are served by online content providers and platforms, and their attitudes to and experiences of using the internet: Online Nation 2024 report