Last week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released its anticipated preliminary 122-page staff report on Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: A Proposed Framework for Businesses and Policymakers (the "Report"), which we covered in brief immediately following its release. In this part 1 of our review, and in following parts, we dig into specifics of the Report's proposed framework, with a eye toward examining rationales for the various proposals as well as analysis on the potential effects going forward on practices and data policies.
During the final week of October and beginning of November, I attended two privacy events that were set far apart geographically and philosophically: the Data Protection Commissioners Conference in Jerusalem and the ad:tech conference in New York City. The Jerusalem event had a decidedly pro-privacy flavor, while at ad:tech businesses showcased myriad ways for monetizing personal information. Both conferences posed interesting questions about the future of privacy, but as a privacy lawyer I was more interested in learning and observing than engaging in the privacy debates. The events' apparently divergent privacy narratives made me ponder where a privacy lawyer may fit on the privacy continuum between these two great cities.
Several important privacy issues were in the news in the first half of this week. Here's our take on these stories, which covered online data collection, employee privacy and legislative battles about the future of privacy.
German state data protection authorities have recently criticized both cloud computing and the EU-US Safe Harbor Framework. From some of the reactions, you would think that both are in imminent danger of a European crackdown. That's not likely, but the comments reflect some concerns with recent trends in outsourcing and transborder data flows that multinationals would be well advised to address in their planning and operations.
Mexico has joined the ranks of more than 50 countries that have enacted omnibus data privacy laws covering the private sector. The new Federal Law on the Protection of Personal Data Held by Private Parties (Ley federal de protección de datos personales en posesión de los particulares) (the "Law") was published on July 5, 2010 and took effect on July 6. IAPP has released an unofficial English translation. The Law will have an impact on the many US-based companies that operate or advertise in Mexico, as well as those that use Spanish-language call centers and other support services located in Mexico.
The United States Supreme Court issued its decision today in City of Ontario, California v. Quon, ruling that a public employer's examination of an employee's personal text messages on a government-issued pager did not violate the Fourth Amendment. Justice Kennedy's opinion for the Court remarked that a review of messages on an employer-provided device would similarly be regarded as "reasonable and normal in the private-employer context."
This post is Part Two in my review and discussion of some of the comments submitted in the response to the Boucher Bill privacy and data security legislation discussion draft. As in Part One, Part Two will describe and summarize at a high level some (but not all) of the issues identified by the commenters. Part Two covers comments submitted by American Business Media (ABM), which focuses on the Business-to-Business online information market; the Association of National Advertisers (ANA); the Marketing Research Association (MRA), an association of the survey and opinion research profession; the National Retail Federation and Shop.org (collectively, NRF); and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
A new set of EU standard contract clauses ("SCCs" or "model contracts") for processing European personal data abroad came into effect on May 15, 2010. Taken together with a recent opinion by the official EU "Article 29" working group on the concepts of "controller" and "processor" under the EU Data Protection Directive, this development suggests that it is time to review arrangements for business process outsourcing, software as a service (SaaS), cloud computing, and even interaffiliate support services, when they involve storing or processing personal data from Europe in the United States, India, and other common outsourcing locations.
As previously reported, in early May Reps. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) and Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) introduced a discussion draft of proposed federal privacy and data security legislation. Reps. Boucher and Stearns sought comments on the discussion draft, setting a deadline of last Friday, June 4, 2010. Numerous organizations have submitted comments. This multi-part post will describe and summarize, at a high level, some (but not all) of the issues identified by the commenters.
Social networking entails some risks and responsibilities. It may implicate privacy and labor law, confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, advertising regulations, defamation, and other legal regimes, across borders in a global medium. Users, and their employers, need to be aware of these risks and responsibilities in deciding how to make best use of social media.
It often makes sense to refer to an information security management framework or standard in an outsourcing contract, but this is usually not very meaningful unless the customer also understands what particular security measures the vendor will apply to protect the customer's data.
Security governance is often well established in large organizations, but privacy governance typically lags. It is time for a broader approach to "information governance" that focusses on the kinds of sensitive data handled by the enterprise and establishes policies to assure compliance and effective risk management, as well as better customer, employee, government, and business relations.
As some of you know, I tweeted my notes from the IAPP Global Privacy Summit 2010 yesterday and today (@Forsheit for those of you on Twitter). Since many of our readers are not on Twitter, I thought I would provide you with those notes here (minus the usual Twitter hashtags and abbreviations). Please note that there were multiple sessions, and this reflects only those I was able to attend, and only the information I could quickly record, putting virtual pen to paper. These are not direct quotes, unless specifically designated as such. Overall, I think it was a great conference, a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with other lawyers and privacy professionals, and to meet students, lawyers, and others looking to learn more about this constantly evolving legal and compliance space. For me, the conference highlight was Viktor Mayer-Schonberger's keynote this morning on The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age. Without further ado, here are my notes. Would love to hear your thoughts/reactions.
This week, I will be providing short updates from the IAPP Global Privacy Summit in Washington, DC. The conference will be in full swing tomorrow, and I will report on various panels and topics of interest. In the meantime, as I prepare to see old and new friends at the Welcome Reception this evening, a few thoughts on what I expect to see and hear a lot over the next few days.
As many of our readers know, the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) will celebrate 10 years this Tuesday, March 16. In connection with that anniversary, the IAPP is releasing a whitepaper, "A Call For Agility: The Next-Generation Privacy Professional," tomorrow, March 15. I am honored that the IAPP has given me the opportunity to read and blog about the whitepaper in advance of its official release.
As the partners of InfoLawGroup make our way through the sensory overload of the RSA Conference this week, I am reminded (and feel guilty) that it has been a while since I posted here. I have good excuses - have simply been too busy with work - but after spending several days in the thought-provoking environment that is RSA, I had to break down and write something. A few observations, from a lawyer's perspective, based on some pervasive themes.
Today the Senate Judiciary Committee approved two federal data security bills, Senator Leahy's S. 1490, the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act, and Senator Feinstein's S. 139, the Data Breach Notification Act. Of course, there have been dozens of proposed federal breach notification bills over the past several years, from both sides of the aisle. Senator Leahy's office issued this statement earlier today. While we cannot predict the fate of S. 1490 and S. 139, and we will have future occasion to comment on the bills in more detail, Tanya and I wanted to highlight a few notable provisions now.