Monthly Archives: April 2010

U.S. Legislators Urge Enhanced Privacy Protections for Social Networking Websites

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

Legislators at the federal and state levels are urging social networking websites to enhance privacy protections available to their users.  On April 27, 2010, four U.S. Senators wrote a letter to Facebook’s CEO expressing “concern regarding recent changes to the Facebook privacy policy and the use of personal data on third party websites.”  The letter urged Facebook to provide opt-in mechanisms for users, as opposed to lengthy opt-out processes, and highlighted default sharing of personal information, third-party advertisers’ data storage and instant personalization features as three areas of concern.

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Mexican Senate Approves Data Protection Bill

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

The Mexican Senate has unanimously approved a landmark data protection law governing information use in the private sector, la Ley Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en posesión de los particulares (full text in Spanish).  We provided information on the bill last week when the Chamber of Deputies voted to approve it.  The legislation has been forwarded to the president for signature.  We will provide further details as this story develops. 

Mason Weisz, an associate at Hunton & Williams, provided an overview of the new legislation during the Centre for Information Policy Leadership’s First Friday Call on June 11, 2010.

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Christopher Kuner of Hunton & Williams Wins 2010 Burton Award for Legal Achievement

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

Hunton & Williams is pleased to announce that Christopher Kuner, a partner in the firm’s Brussels office, was named a recipient of the 2010 Burton Award for Legal Achievement.  He was honored for his article “Onward Transfers of Personal Data Under the U.S. Safe Harbor Framework,” originally published in the August 17, 2009, issue of BNA’s Privacy & Security Law Report.

Each year, The Burton Foundation, in association with the U.S. Library of Congress and its Law Library, recognizes excellence in legal writing.  This year, 30 individuals were selected as winners of the Burton Award from among entries submitted by the nation’s 1,000 largest and most prestigious law firms.  Mr. Kuner’s article examines the rules relating to so-called “onward transfers” of personal data under the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework.  Onward transfers of personal data typically involve outsourcing and IT maintenance situations, which have become widespread and are highly relevant to companies around the world.  View Mr. Kuner’s article.

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Department of Commerce to Seek Public Comment on Privacy Issues

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On April 20, 2010, the Department of Commerce (“DOC”) issued a Notice of Inquiry to solicit public feedback “on the impact of current privacy laws in the United States and around the world on the pace of innovation in the information economy.”  The aim is to understand “whether current privacy laws serve consumer interests and fundamental democratic values.”  To this end, the DOC poses a number of questions, including:

  • Is the notice and choice approach to consumer privacy outmoded?  Would consumers be better served by a “use-based” model?
  • How does compliance with myriad state privacy laws affect business activities and online operations?
  • How do international privacy laws and regulations impact global Internet commerce, compliance costs, product development process and Internet users?
  • What jurisdictional conflicts do companies and regulators face as a result of privacy laws?  What is their impact on trade and foreign investment?
  • How does the U.S. privacy framework affect business innovation, accountability and compliance related to the use of personal information?
  • What is the state of the development, use and acceptance of privacy-related technologies?
  • How do privacy laws impact startup ventures and small and medium-sized entities?

The DOC plans to issue a report based on an analysis of public feedback it receives.  According to a DOC spokesperson, the Notice of Inquiry is expected to be published in the Federal Register on April 23, 2010.  Hunton & Williams’ Centre for Information Policy Leadership will be submitting comments. 

On April 16, we reported that the DOC will be holding a public meeting on May 7, 2010, to listen to stakeholders’ views on privacy policy and innovation in the United States.
 

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International Data Protection Authorities Scold Google Over Privacy Concerns

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On April 19, 2010, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart, and the heads of nine other international data protection authorities took part in an unprecedented collaboration by issuing a strongly worded letter of reproach to Google’s Chief Executive Officer, Eric Schmidt.  The joint letter, which was also signed by data protection officials from France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom, highlighted growing international concern that “the privacy rights of the world’s citizens are being forgotten as Google rolls out new technological applications.”

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The Digital Economy Act 2010: A Step Toward Censorship?

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On April 8, 2010, the Digital Economy Act (the “Act”), containing provisions relating to online copyright infringement, network infrastructure and digital safety, became law in the UK.  The Act’s main provisions include:

  • new duties for the Office of Communications (the UK’s communications regulator), to report every three years on issues such as the UK’s communications infrastructure and Internet domain name registration;
  • additional obligations on Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) that seek to reduce online copyright infringement;
  • increased penalties for online copyright infringement; and
  • intervention powers with respect to Internet domain registries.

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Department of Commerce Announces a Public Meeting on “Information Privacy and Innovation in the Internet Economy”

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

The Department of Commerce (“DOC”) will be holding a public meeting on May 7, 2010, in Washington, D.C., to listen to stakeholders’ views on privacy policies in the United States.  This session is part of a broader inquiry by the DOC’s newly created Internet Policy Task Force “whose mission is to identify leading public policy and operational challenges in the Internet environment.”  The DOC’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the International Trade Administration will issue a notice of inquiry to look at the nexus between innovation and privacy on the Internet.  The Centre for Information Policy Leadership will be participating in these processes.

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2010 IAPP Global Privacy Summit

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

Join us next week at the International Association of Privacy Professionals (“IAPP”) Global Privacy Summit in Washington, D.C., April 19 – 21, 2010.  This year’s summit features three days of intensive programs and networking with more 1,500 privacy professionals.  We also hope you will visit our privacy professionals who are speaking on the following panels:

  • The Essential Elements of Accountability and Baking Them into a Privacy Business Process
    Tuesday April 20, 1:15 – 2:15 p.m.
    Speakers include: Marty Abrams, Executive Director of the Centre for Information Policy Leadership and Scott Taylor, CIPP, Chief Privacy Officer of Hewlett-Packard Company.
     
  • Revisiting the Safe Harbor a Decade Later
    Wednesday April 21, 12:15 – 1:15 p.m.
    Speakers include: Lisa J. Sotto, Partner and Head of the Privacy and Information Management Practice at Hunton & Williams LLP; Damon Greer, CIPP, Director, U.S. – EU and Swiss Safe Harbor Framework, U.S. Department of Commerce; and JoAnn Stonier, Global Privacy & Data Usage Officer of MasterCard Worldwide.
     
  • Data Can Be Good: Exploring Alternatives to Data Minimization for Protecting Privacy
    Wednesday April 21, 12:15 – 1:15 p.m.
    Speakers include: Marty Abrams, Executive Director of the Centre for Information Policy Leadership; Fred Cate, Distinguished Professor of Indiana University and Senior Policy Advisor of the Centre for Information Policy Leadership; and Stan Crosley, CIPP, Co-Director of Indiana University Center for Strategic Health Information Provisioning and Principal of Crosley Law Offices, LLC. The program is moderated by Jane Horvath, CIPP, CIPP/G, Senior Privacy Counsel of Google, Inc.

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Mexico on the Verge of Amending its Data Protection Law

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

According to Mr. M. Jorge Yanez V., a partner at the law firm of Barrera, Siqueiros y Torres Landa, S.C. in Mexico City, on April 13, 2010, the Mexican Chamber of Deputies passed a bill that, when ratified by the Senate, will become the country’s new Federal Law of Protection of Personal Information.  The Senate is expected to pass the bill shortly and without revisions.  When the bill is enacted into law, Mexico’s Federal Institute of Access to Information, the agency that currently oversees the disclosure of and access to government information, will be renamed the Federal Institute of Access to Information and Data Protection.  The agency’s jurisdiction will expand to include the protection of personal information of private individuals and entities.  We will provide additional details about the new bill as it becomes available.

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Italian Court’s Reasoning in Google Case Released

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

Following up on our previous post on the sentencing of three Google executives by an Italian court, the New York Times reports that an 111-page explanation of the verdict has been released.  Judge Oscar Magi found that Google had an obligation to make users more aware of its EU privacy policies, and cited Google’s active marketing of its Google Video site as indicative of the company’s profit motive for not removing the video sooner.

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