Valerie Armstrong-Surgenor
PartnerValerie specialises in the areas of information technology, cybersecurity, data protection and other compliance matters, intellectual property and brand management & protection, and commercial contracts.
Val is listed in the 'WWL Thought Leaders: Data' 2023 report for Data Privacy & Protection and Data Information Technology. She is also listed in Who’s Who Legal 2023 as an expert in the areas of Data Privacy & Protection and Information Technology.
Ranked as a Leader in the Field for Charities, Data Protection & Information Law and Information Technology in the 2024 edition of Chambers UK Guide to the Legal Profession, Val is described by clients as “brilliant, approachable and able to reduce the concepts down into words and phrases I can understand".
Val leads the firm’s Charities & Third Sector team where she has a particular interest in governance and trustee matters. Having previously been the Chair of the Independent Fundraising Standards and Adjudication Panel for Scotland, the independent body in Scotland which oversees complaints made about the fundraising practices of Scottish registered charities, she also has a focus on how governance relates to charity fundraising.
Val is also an Adjunct Professor at Loyola University in Chicago USA, where she teaches in the area of privacy law at the prestigious Beazley Institute for Health Law & policy.
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ICO warns companies in relation to cookie use
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has written to companies operating some of the UK’s most visited websites regarding their use of cookies. The ICO is concerned that these companies are not following its guidance on website design and are not providing users with adequate choice as to whether their activities are tracked for personalised marketing.
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Appeal provides useful reminder to all “Scrapers” of obligations under data protection legislation
Clearview AI has won an appeal of the May 2022 enforcement penalty notice issued by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at a First-tier tribunal. The decision provides a useful prompt to remind businesses of the legal issues which abound when considering data scraping.
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Data Protection principles applied in helpful AI Guidance issued from across the Channel
As we continually seek to apply best practice and comply with data protection laws in the implementation of Artificial Intelligence, the French data privacy regulator, the CNIL, continues to provide helpful guidance and useful reminders of how we can use AI and safeguard data subjects.