EU to collect data of international air travellers

According to EUObserver.com, air travellers going in and out of the EU may soon have to give their personal details to national authorities in the member state of departure or arrival, if proposals set to be put forward by the EU commission on Wednesday are approved by governments and the European Parliament.



Read more here: http://euobserver.com/9/31731

EU to press for 'right to be forgotten' online

EUObserver writes that the EU is in the process of revamping its data privacy rules dating back to 1995 so as to encompass social networks, online data aggregators and the way prosecutors and policemen across the bloc handle personal records.

The Facebook generation knows it. Everything you've posted online can and will be used against you at some point. People have been fired for the party pictures or unthoughtful jokes they've posted online.


Deleting a Facebook account does not help. According to the popular website, users can "reactivate" their accounts at any time: Facebook does not erase your data, its simply hides it from others.


In a bid to stem these developments, the commission is now revising a 15-year-old "Data Protection Directive," drafted before the Google and Facebook booms. New legislative proposals are set to be put forward mid-2011, but the commission has already adopted a "strategy" on how to go about the changes.

One of the principles mentioned is the "right to be forgotten" online, meaning that people who want their online profiles deleted "should be able to rely on the service provider to remove personal data, such as photos, completely

Seen from the American perspective, businesses find it difficult to navigate between the EU laws and the patchwork of national data protection requirements, one US official familiar with this dossier told EUobserver.
"The lack of harmonisation among the member states in terms of interpreting the directive and transposing the directive into national laws led to uncertainty among compliance officers, privacy officers, and legal counsel. These ambiguities result in confusion and a lack of clarity with regard to obligations the business community must meet," said the official, who requested not to be named.

Read the full article here: http://euobserver.com/9/31200/?rk=1

UK Privacy body to re-examine Google

The BBC reports that Britain's privacy watchdog is to look again at what personal information internet giant Google gathered from private wi-fi networks.


The Information Commissioner's Office had investigated a sample earlier this year after it was revealed that Google had collected personal data during its Street View project.

At the time, it said no "significant" personal details were collected.

But Google has since admitted that e-mails and passwords were copied.

Read more here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11614970

Czechs halt Google Street View

The BBC reports that authorities in the Czech Republic have stopped Google from collecting images for its Street View mapping service. The Czech Office for Personal Data Protection refused to grant the search engine giant a licence to collect fresh data in the country.

Read more here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11312390

EU lists data-sharing policies for first time

The EU and its 27 member states have almost 20 programmes, agencies and agreements governing the exchange of personal, business and telecoms data of EU citizens, a first ever audit has shown. Meanwhile, the commission has admitted that its anti-terrorism policies are often made on an 'ad hoc' basis.
http://euobserver.com/9/30512/?rk=1

Online privacy labels to prevent shoppers 'selling their souls'

EUobserver.com reports that US and EU consumer protection bodies are pushing for a data privacy labelling system which would make it easier for online shoppers to become aware of how their personal data is being used and passed on to other companies.


Read more here: http://euobserver.com/9/30478/?rk=1

Austria wants sanctions for data gathering after Google ‘accident'

EUobserver reports that in the wake of an admission by internet search giant Google that it had accidentally collected data from unencrypted wifi networks in people's homes while its fleet of cars were out photographing buildings and roads for its ‘Street View' map service, Austria has said it wants to make such moves punishable.

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Microsoft woos EU privacy watchdogs

Euractiv.com reports that Microsoft's Bing search engine will retain private Internet search data for a maximum period of six months, the ICT giant announced yesterday (19 January) as EU antitrust regulators started to scrutinise the company's alliance with Yahoo.

Microsoft offered to reduce from 18 to six months the period it retains the IP addresses of Internet users making queries through its Bing search engine, the company said. The change will be implemented over the next 12 to 18 months, it added.

Read the article here: http://www.euractiv.com/en/infosociety/microsoft-woos-eu-privacy-watchdogs/article-189063

EU Parliament threatens to derail EU-US bank data deal

EUObserver.com reports that the European Parliament is threatening to derail an interim agreement allowing US authorities to track European bank transactions in terrorism investigations unless certain concessions are made.

The president of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek at the end of last week sent a second letter to the Spanish EU presidency asking for more information on the so-called Swift agreement.

A plenary debate on the matter is scheduled for Wednesday in Strasbourg, during which the Spanish presidency is expected to give more answers on the technicalities of the deal.
The agreement would allow US prosecutors and investigators to tap into intra-European bank transactions as part of anti-terrorist enquiries - something EU lawmakers say raises privacy concerns.

Read the article here: http://euobserver.com/9/29284/?rk=1

EU/US Bank data transfer deal reached

EUobserver.com reports today that EU justice ministers approved a provisional bank data transfer deal with the United States, allowing American anti-terrorist investigators to access European financial transaction data for another nine months.

The interim agreement had sparked controversy among European Greens and Liberals, who cited data privacy concerns and slammed member states for "rushing" to get the deal done before the European Parliament acquires more powers in this field. A day later, with the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the legislature would have had a bigger say on the agreement.

Read the entire story here: http://euobserver.com/9/29072/?rk=1

E-health hampered by interoperability glitches

According to Euractiv.com, ptential cost-savings from e-health are being jeopardised because computer systems cannot talk to one another, according to experts. Healthcare IT specialists also warn of resistance from healthcare workers and patients amid ongoing concerns over data protection.

Potential cost-savings from e-health are being jeopardised because computer systems cannot talk to one another, according to experts. Healthcare IT specialists also warn of resistance from healthcare workers and patients amid ongoing concerns over data protection.

Continue reading here: http://www.euractiv.com/en/health/health-hampered-interoperability-glitches/article-185309

BNP Ex-Security Chief Fined For Leaking Members List

A former senior official in the British National Party was fined £200 yesterday and castigated by a district judge after he admitted leaking the far-right party's membership list online.
Matt Single, 37, the BNP's former security chief, was behind the disclosure of the names and addresses of 12,000 people, including a police officer who was consequently sacked. Single had been charged under the Data Protection Act.

Continue reading here: http://www.securityoracle.com/news/detail.html?id=15839

Strong opposition to UK data sharing clause

The UK government is facing strong opposition to the clause in a draft Bill currently being debated in Parliament that removes barriers to data sharing between government departments to support improved public services. Justice Secretary Jack Straw is being called upon to remove the 'information sharing orders', aka clause 152, from the Coroners and Justice Bill. The British Medical Association has said that the whole profession is concerned for doctor/patient confidentiality, because the clause allows information obtained for one purpose to be used for another, with limited justification. Opposition also comes from such weighty quarters as Liberty, GeneWatch UK, Patient Concern, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and the British Computer Society. Further, the Information Commissioner wants 'much stronger safeguards' in the bill to protect sensitive data, particularly health records. He has made a number of criticisms in an updated commentary on the Coroners and Justice Bill (outlined in Volume 9, Issue 4 of Privacy & Data Protection.) A copy of the ICO's commentary is available from the ICO's website.

Source: PDP Data Protection News

Deutsche Bahn accused of spying on own staff

Deutsche Bahn is in deep trouble. Not only has the state-owned operator had to postpone a recent planned part-privatisation because of the financial crisis., the BBC reports. Now it is also accused of spying on its own staff.

Berlin's data protection commissioner and prosecutors are currently conducting an investigation into the affair over any breaches of data protection.

Read the article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7887017.stm

UK Information Commissioner's Office launches public consultation on a Privacy Notices Code of Practice

The UK's Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has launched a public consultation prior to publishing a Privacy Notices Code of Practice. The Code of Practice will help organisations to draft clear privacy notices and make sure that they collect information about people fairly and transparently. The Code contains good and bad examples that organisations will be able to use to help draw up their own privacy notices.We would welcome your comments on the draft code of practice by Friday 3 April 2009.

How to respond
Please use the response form for submitting your comments. Forms should be saved in Word format and emailed to: consultations@ico.gsi.gov.uk . Alternatively you can print out this form and post to: Data Protection Development Team, ICO, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.Click on the titles below to view the draft code of practice and the consultation response form.
Draft Privacy notices code of practice
Privacy notices code of practice: consultation response form