Photo of Mark Young

Mark Young

Mark Young is an experienced tech regulatory lawyer and a vice-chair of Covington’s Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group. He advises major global companies on their most challenging data privacy compliance matters and investigations. Mark also leads on EMEA cybersecurity matters at the firm. In these contexts, he has worked closely with some of the world’s leading technology and life sciences companies and other multinationals.

Mark has been recognized for several years in Chambers UK as "a trusted adviser - practical, results-oriented and an expert in the field;" "fast, thorough and responsive;" "extremely pragmatic in advice on risk;" “provides thoughtful, strategic guidance and is a pleasure to work with;” and has "great insight into the regulators." According to the most recent edition (2024), "He's extremely technologically sophisticated and advises on true issues of first impression, particularly in the field of AI."

Drawing on over 15 years of experience, Mark specializes in:

  • Advising on potential exposure under GDPR and international data privacy laws in relation to innovative products and services that involve cutting-edge technology, e.g., AI, biometric data, and connected devices.
  • Providing practical guidance on novel uses of personal data, responding to individuals exercising rights, and data transfers, including advising on Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) and compliance challenges following Brexit and Schrems II.
  • Helping clients respond to investigations by data protection regulators in the UK, EU and globally, and advising on potential follow-on litigation risks.
  • Counseling ad networks (demand and supply side), retailers, and other adtech companies on data privacy compliance relating to programmatic advertising, and providing strategic advice on complaints and claims in a range of jurisdictions.
  • Advising life sciences companies on industry-specific data privacy issues, including:
    • clinical trials and pharmacovigilance;
    • digital health products and services; and
    • engagement with healthcare professionals and marketing programs.
  • International conflict of law issues relating to white collar investigations and data privacy compliance (collecting data from employees and others, international transfers, etc.).
  • Advising various clients on the EU NIS2 Directive and UK NIS regulations and other cybersecurity-related regulations, particularly (i) cloud computing service providers, online marketplaces, social media networks, and other digital infrastructure and service providers, and (ii) medical device and pharma companies, and other manufacturers.
  • Helping a broad range of organizations prepare for and respond to cybersecurity incidents, including personal data breaches, IP and trade secret theft, ransomware, insider threats, supply chain incidents, and state-sponsored attacks. Mark’s incident response expertise includes:
    • supervising technical investigations and providing updates to company boards and leaders;
    • advising on PR and related legal risks following an incident;
    • engaging with law enforcement and government agencies; and
    • advising on notification obligations and other legal risks, and representing clients before regulators around the world.
  • Advising clients on risks and potential liabilities in relation to corporate transactions, especially involving companies that process significant volumes of personal data (e.g., in the adtech, digital identity/anti-fraud, and social network sectors.)
  • Providing strategic advice and advocacy on a range of UK and EU technology law reform issues including data privacy, cybersecurity, ecommerce, eID and trust services, and software-related proposals.
  • Representing clients in connection with references to the Court of Justice of the EU.
Contact:Read more about Mark YoungEmail

On 15 January 2025, the European Commission published an action plan on the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers (the “Action Plan”). The Action Plan sets out a series of EU-level actions that are intended to better protect the healthcare sector from cyber threats. The publication of the Action Plan follows a number of high-profile incidents in recent years where healthcare providers across the European Union have been the target of cyber attacks.Continue Reading European Commission Publishes Action Plan on Cybersecurity of Hospitals and Healthcare Providers

In addition to releasing the new EU Cybersecurity Strategy before the holidays (see our post here), the Commission published a revised Directive on measures for high common level of cybersecurity across the Union (“NIS2”) and a Directive on the resilience of critical entities (“Critical Entities Resilience Directive”). In this blog post, we summarize key points relating to NIS2, including more onerous security and incident reporting requirements; extending requirements to companies in the food, pharma, medical device, and chemical sectors, among others; and increased powers for regulators, including the ability to impose multi-million Euro fines.

The Commission is seeking feedback on NIS2 and the Critical Entities Resilience Directive, and recently extended its original deadline of early February to March 11, 2021 (responses can be submitted here and here).Continue Reading Proposed New EU Cyber Rules Introduce More Onerous Requirements and Extend to More Sectors

On 25 November 2020, the European Commission published a proposal for a Regulation on European Data Governance (“Data Governance Act”).  The proposed Act aims to facilitate data sharing across the EU and between sectors, and is one of the deliverables included in the European Strategy for Data, adopted in February 2020.  (See our previous blog here for a summary of the Commission’s European Strategy for Data.)  The press release accompanying the proposed Act states that more specific proposals on European data spaces are expected to follow in 2021, and will be complemented by a Data Act to foster business-to-business and business-to-government data sharing.

The proposed Data Governance Act sets out rules relating to the following:

  • Conditions for reuse of public sector data that is subject to existing protections, such as commercial confidentiality, intellectual property, or data protection;
  • Obligations on “providers of data sharing services,” defined as entities that provide various types of data intermediary services;
  • Introduction of the concept of “data altruism” and the possibility for organisations to register as a “Data Altruism Organisation recognised in the Union”; and
  • Establishment of a “European Data Innovation Board,” a new formal expert group chaired by the Commission.

Continue Reading The European Commission publishes a proposal for a Regulation on European Data Governance (the Data Governance Act)

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) has issued and is consulting on draft guidance about explaining decisions made by AI.  The ICO prepared the guidance with The Alan Turing Institute, which is the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence.  Among other things, the guidance sets out key principles to follow and steps to take when explaining AI-assisted decisions — including in relation to different types of AI algorithms — and the policies and procedures that organizations should consider putting in place.

The draft guidance builds upon the ICO’s previous work in this area, including its AI Auditing Framework, June 2019 Project ExplAIN interim report, and September 2017 paper ‘Big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning and data protection’.  (Previous blog posts that track this issue are available here.)  Elements of the new draft guidance touch on points that go beyond narrow GDPR requirements, such as AI ethics (see, in particular, the recommendation to provide explanations of the fairness or societal impacts of AI systems).  Other sections of the guidance are quite technical; for example, the ICO provides its own analysis of the possible uses and interpretability of eleven specific types of AI algorithms.

Organizations that develop, test or deploy AI decision-making systems should review the draft guidance and consider responding to the consultation. The consultation is open until January 24, 2020.  A final version is expected to be published later next year.Continue Reading UK ICO and The Alan Turing Institute Issue Draft Guidance on Explaining Decisions Made by AI

On July 25, 2019, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) published a blog on the trade-offs between different data protection principles when using Artificial Intelligence (“AI”).  The ICO recognizes that AI systems must comply with several data protection principles and requirements, which at times may pull organizations in different directions.  The blog identifies notable trade-offs that may arise, provides some practical tips for resolving these trade-offs, and offers worked examples on visualizing and mathematically minimizing trade-offs.

The ICO invites organizations with experience of considering these complex issues to provide their views.  This recent blog post on trade-offs is part of its on-going Call for Input on developing a new framework for auditing AI.  See also our earlier blog on the ICO’s call for input on bias and discrimination in AI systems here.Continue Reading ICO publishes blog post on AI and trade-offs between data protection principles

On June 3, 2019, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”), released an Interim Report on a collaboration project with The Alan Turing Institute (“Institute”) called “Project ExplAIn.” The purpose of this project, according to the ICO, is to develop “practical guidance” for organisations on complying with UK data protection law when using artificial intelligence (“AI”) decision-making systems; in particular, to explain the impact AI decisions may have on individuals. This Interim Report may be of particular relevance to organizations considering how to meet transparency obligations when deploying AI systems that make automated decisions that fall within the scope of Article 22 of the GDPR.
Continue Reading ICO’s Interim Report on Explaining AI