Tag Archives: OECD

EU and U.S. Formulating a Privacy Framework Agreement

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Hunton & Williams LLP

As reported in BNA’s Privacy Law Watch, EU Member States are working on an overarching privacy framework agreement with the United States. The framework agreement, which may be used as a starting point for future negotiations, aims to reduce the amount of time and resources required to prepare new agreements between the European Union and the United States.

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French Data Protection Authority Elects New Chair

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On September 21, 2011, the board of the French Data Protection Authority (the “CNIL”) elected Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin as its new Chair, following Alex Türk’s resignation which he officially tendered at the board meeting.

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Council of Europe Considers Amendments to Convention 108

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On June 28-30, 2011, the Council of Europe’s Bureau of the Consultative Committee of the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to the Automatic Processing of Personal Data (known as the “T-PD-Bureau”) met in Strasbourg, France, to discuss, among other things, amending the Council of Europe’s Convention 108.  Convention 108, which underlies the European Union’s legal framework for data protection, is the only legally-binding international convention that addresses data protection.  Amendment of the Convention is thus closely linked to the current review of the EU data protection framework, and many of the same actors are involved in both exercises.

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Commerce Department Shares Guidance on Mexico’s New Data Protection Law

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On June 24, 2011, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration released a PowerPoint presentation on Mexico’s new private sector data protection law that was shared at a meeting of the OECD Working Party on Information Security and Privacy by Mexico’s Ministry of Economy and Federal Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (“IFAI”).  The presentation provides guidance on the creation of privacy notices and establishment of self-regulatory schemes, and also outlines the responsibilities of the Ministry of Economy and the IFAI with respect to implementation of the law.  As we previously reported, the requirements concerning self-regulation and providing privacy notices to consumers go into effect this July, with the balance of the law, granting individual participation rights to consumers, effective in January 2012.

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UK Chancellor Kenneth Clarke Discusses Data Protection Issues

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On May 26, 2011, the United Kingdom’s Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Kenneth Clarke spoke before the EU Committee of the British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium.  His remarks focused on data protection, a subject he characterized as one “heavily on the agenda” in Brussels and in many EU Member States.  Clarke emphasized his own role as a proponent of data protection and a defender of civil liberties and individual freedom, and discussed the introduction into Parliament of a major bill to enhance individual freedom in the UK.  Key measures in the bill, many of which respond to issues raised over the past few years by the UK Information Commissioner, include:

  • Greater independence for the Information Commissioner
  • Safeguards against misuse of counter-terrorism stop and search powers
  • Further regulation of the use of closed-circuit television monitoring
  • Reform of the regulations governing vetting and barring of ex-offenders and persons working with children and vulnerable adults

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Announcing the Launch of a New Journal on International Data Protection and Privacy Law

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Hunton & Williams LLP

Oxford University Press recently published the debut issue of the new quarterly journal International Data Privacy Law (“IDPL”), the first and only journal on data protection and privacy law which both focuses on international issues and subjects articles to double-blind peer review.  Hunton & Williams Brussels-based partner Christopher Kuner is the journal’s editor-in-chief, and Professor Fred Cate, Senior Policy Advisor of the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams, also serves as an editor.  According to Mr. Kuner, “IDPL has three main missions, namely to be global, to span the gulf between scholarship and practice and to help solidify the position of data protection and privacy law as a central area of importance for the individual, the economy and the development of new technologies.”

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The Centre Calls for Data Stewardship and Organizational Accountability

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On January 28, 2011, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams LLP filed comments with the United States Department of Commerce in which the Centre stressed privacy governance based on data stewardship by accountable organizations.  The Centre was one of a number of organizations that submitted comments in response to the Department of Commerce’s privacy paper, “Commercial Data Privacy and Innovation in the Internet Economy: A Dynamic Policy Framework,” which was released in December 2010.  The theme of today’s comments is similar to that which the Centre suggested earlier this month in its comments responding to the European Commission’s consultation paper.

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Update: Department of Commerce’s “Privacy Bill of Rights”

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

As previously reported, on December 16, 2010, the U.S. Department of Commerce released its Green Paper “aimed at promoting consumer privacy online while ensuring the Internet remains a platform that spurs innovation, job creation, and economic growth.”

During a press teleconference earlier that morning announcing the release of the Green Paper, Secretary Gary Locke commented on the Green Paper’s recommendation of adopting a baseline commercial data privacy framework, or a “privacy bill of rights,” built on an expanded, revitalized set of Fair Information Practice Principles (“FIPPs”).  He indicated that baseline FIPPs would respond to consumer concerns and help increase consumer trust.  The Secretary emphasized that the Department of Commerce would look to stakeholders to help flesh out appropriate frameworks for specific industry sectors and various types of data processing.  He also noted that the agency is soliciting comments on how best to give the framework the “teeth” necessary to make it effective.  The Secretary added that the Department of Commerce is also open to public comment regarding whether the framework should be enforced through legislation or simply by conferring power on the Federal Trade Commission. Continue reading…

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Study on Regulation of Transborder Data Flows Presented to the OECD

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On December 2, 2010, Christopher Kuner, partner in Hunton & Williams’ Brussels office, presented his 90-page study entitled “Regulation of Transborder Data Flows Under Data Protection and Privacy Law: Past, Present, and Future” at a meeting of the OECD Working Party on Information Security and Privacy in Paris.  The study was written in Mr. Kuner’s capacity as a Visiting Researcher at the Tilburg University Institute of Law, Technology, and Society (“TILT”) in the Netherlands.  A revised version of the study will be annexed to the report to be prepared in 2011 by the Working Party on the 30th anniversary of the OECD Privacy Guidelines.

The study describes the historical development of regulation of transborder data flows and its present status in legal systems around the world; evaluates the policies underlying such regulation; and draws some conclusions for the future.  The study also contains a comprehensive annex with excerpts from relevant provisions of data protection and privacy instruments and laws dealing with transborder data flows.

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Centre Comments on Commerce Department’s Notice of Inquiry on Global Free Flow of Information

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On November 15, 2010, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership filed comments with the Department of Commerce in response to the Department’s Notice of Inquiry (“NOI”) on the Global Free Flow of Information on the Internet.  The NOI was issued pursuant to an examination by the Department’s Internet Policy Task Force of issues related to restrictions on information flows on the Internet.  The NOI poses wide-ranging questions related to why such restrictions were instituted; the impact restrictions may have on innovation, economic development, global trade and investment; and how best to deal with any negative effects.  In the NOI, the Department acknowledges the benefits that businesses, emerging entrepreneurs and consumers derive from the ability to transmit information quickly and efficiently both domestically and internationally.  It also recognizes the integral role the free flow of information plays in promoting economic growth and democratic values essential to free markets and free societies.  The Department also articulated goals such as helping industry and other stakeholders operate in diverse Internet environments, and identifying policies that will advance economic growth and create job opportunities for Americans.

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