In this week’s Privacy Tracker legislative roundup, read about the latest in EU data protection initiatives, plus what the GDPR means for research organizations and what’s happening with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield. Also in this week’s roundup, the acting information commissioner in the Caymans has said he doesn’t think the planned privacy regime in that country will allow for an EU adequacy status; Uganda’s minister for finance has tabled a data protection bill; and Singapore will see a cybersecurity bill in 2017. In the U.S., a vote on the Email Privacy Act is expected, the Senate passed a bill that would mean Federal Aviation Administration drone regulations would pre-empt state laws, and updates on the Kelsey Smith Act and the DIGIT Act.
Latest News
The Cayman Islands’ Acting Information Commissioner Jan Liebaers said in an interview that the nation’s data protection law may not pass muster with the EU if it goes ahead with the planned ombudsman office, reports Cayman Compass.
Lexology reports that Singapore’s Parliament will see a standalone cybersecurity bill in 2017.
Uganda’s State Minister for Finance David Bahati has tabled the Data Protection and Privacy Bill, reports Uganda Radio Network.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has scheduled a vote in the coming week on a bill to update the Email Privacy Act that would require law enforcement to get a warrant to access individuals’ electronic communications, The Hill reports.
The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that solidifies the Federal Aviation Administration’s role as regulator of drones, eliminating states abilities to create drone laws, reports Newsday—the bill must be reconciled with a House measure that doesn’t pre-empt states.
The Kelsey Smith Act, which aims to allow police to access cell phone location data in certain emergency situations, passed the House Energy and Commerce Committeewithstanding an attempt to revert it to a previous version with higher standard for access, reports The Topeka Capital-Journal.
Politico’s Morning Tech reports that the Senate Commerce Committee plans to markup the DIGIT Act — which aims to create an internet of things working group — when it meets next week to vote on Federal Communications Commission reauthorization legislation.
A Louisiana state senator has proposed a bill exempting certain footage from police body scanners from the state’s public records law, reports KLFY.
A bill amending Michigan’s Preservation of Personal Privacy Act is awaiting the governor’s signature, Ari Scharg writes for MLive about the detrimental effect that would have on privacy in the state.
The Vermont Senate nixed a constitutional amendment to give individuals a right to privacy, reports WCAX.
ICYMI
The passage of the General Data Protection Regulation in the EU will change the way research organizations operate, loosening some restrictions and implementing others, writes IAPP Westin Fellow Gabriel Maldoff, CIPP/US, for The Privacy Advisor.
Now that the General Data Protection Regulation has passed, the EU needs to refresh the ePrivacy Directive, reported panelists at the IAPP Europe Data Protection Intensive in London, Sam Pfeifle has the details in this exclusive for The Privacy Advisor.
A federal appeals court ruled last week that insurance company Travelers must defend Portal Healthcare Solutions in a breach case, Scott Godes of Barnes & Thornburg writes for The Privacy Advisor that the ruling is “great news for policyholders.”
At the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s April 19 hearing in Washington on encryption, representatives from the FBI and state law enforcement, as well as the tech industry, came together to offer testimony on the ongoing encryption versus privacy debate, reports Courtney Gabrielson, CIPM, in this exclusive for The Privacy Advisor.
U.S.
After European privacy regulators articulated concerns with Privacy Shield, the U.S. is reluctant to reopen negotiations, The Hill reports.
The House Judiciary Committee may consider halting the government’s ability to track citizens’ locations via their cellphones without a warrant sooner rather than later, Morning Consult reports.
In an opinion piece for Quartz, Jean-Louis Gassée discusses the anti-encryption bill introduced by Richard Burr, R-N.C, writing that it’s “dangerously delusional.”
U.S. businesses expressed their anxieties after the Article 29 Working Party released its opinion of the E.U-U.S. Privacy Shield agreement, eWEEK reports.
A California bill that aimed to punish companies for making smartphones that can’t be cracked has failed, ZDNet reports.
ASIA PACIFIC
Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull announced the government’s new $240 million Cyber Security Strategy last week including funding for 100 new specialist jobs, reports Computerworld.
The Personal Data Protection Commission of Singapore has taken enforcement action against 11 organizations for breaching the Personal Data Protection Act, The Business Times reports.
Internet providers in South Korea will have extra incentive to prevent data breaches after an amendment to its privacy laws by the Korea Communications Commission, JD Supra reports.
EUROPE
While Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger may no longer be in office, Germany’s former justice minister is working to have Germany’s data-retention law requiring phone and Internet providers to stockpile call records, IP addresses, and other records on law-abiding citizens deemed unconstitutional, POLITICO reports.
At the IAPP Europe Data Protection Intensive in London this week, U.K. Information Commissioner Christopher Graham voiced his disappointment that the U.S. has articulated it isn’t interested in reopening negotiations for the Privacy Shield, ComputerWeekly reports.
Daily Mail reports, Lord Neuberger president of the U.K. Supreme Court, said believes gains in technology have made it impossible to properly enforce privacy laws, and developments in IT have greatly increased the tensions between personal privacy and freedom of expression.