This week’s Privacy Tracker legislative roundup reports on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development releasing a global version of the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA); however, two Ontario women filed a suit against the Attorney General of Canada claiming that by complying with FATCA, Canada has violated the rights of almost a million Canadians. Meanwhile, Russia has reportedly banned anonymous use of public WiFi; more questions surround Australia’s data retention scheme, and the UK Information Commissioner’s Office is asking for more power to fight spammers. In the U.S., Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) voiced concerns over health-tracking apps; the Department of Justice has weighed in on the Microsoft data discovery case, and New Hampshire’s new social media law goes into effect next month.
LATEST NEWS
Russia has banned anonymous use of WiFi at public venues such as restaurants, requiring communications providers to identify users with a “full name confirmed by an ID,” ZDNet reports.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation posted a blog outlining reasons Mexico and Australia need to overhaul their data retention mandates.
Forbes reports on the hurdles of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, noting that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released a new global version.
Law360 reports that doctors in Florida have asked the 11th Circuit to reconsider its decision to uphold a statute prohibiting them from asking patients about firearm ownership. (Registration may be required to access this story.)
A California federal court has ruled that the state’s call-recording statute does not apply to cell phone call participants, reports JD Supra.
New Hampshire now has a social media privacy law, reports the National Law Review.
U.S.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has called for federal protections for users of wearable fitness trackers, Business Insider reports.
The Hill reports there’sdisagreement among tech giants over comprehensive privacy legislation in the U.S.
Yahoo has been ordered to face a privacy class-action alleging it scanned its users' emails for targeted advertising, Bloomberg reports, while other claims were tossed.
A California federal judge has dismissed a putative class-action against Google alleging the company violated a contract with usersby giving their private data to third-party app developers, reports Law360. (Registration may be required to access this story.)
The U.S. Department of Justice has asked a New York court to vacate a stay on an order that would compel Microsoft to turn over to the U.S. government certain emails currently being held on servers in Dublin, Ireland, PCWorld reports.
Organizations that conduct business with the Department of Defense will face new rules for reporting computer breaches, and some fear the rules could hurt small- to medium-sized businesses, Bloomberg reports.
CANADA
The Canadian Press reports on alawsuit alleging, "Canada has violated the charter rights of nearly a million Canadians by agreeing to share their financial details with authorities in the United States"under the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
EU
Aiming to develop model terms for cloud computing contracts, including service-level agreements, an industry working group including Google, Microsoft, Amazon and others has submitted guidelines on cloud service level agreements to the European Commission, JD Supra reports.
Upwards of two dozen social scientists wrote a joint letter to EU government institutions arguing that the proposed data protection regulation would "undermine important research,"EU Observer reports.
Privacy This Week reports the European Commission has announced two new technical standards to help RFID users comply with requirements under the Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC) and the European Commission's 2009 Recommendation on RFID.
ASIA PACIFIC
Australian Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim said "it is unclear exactly what type of information" the government's mandatory data retention proposal would require telecommunications companies to collect and retain, The Register reports. And here’s a synopsis of the proposal and reaction from The Age.
Antifraud specialists in China were prosecuted for "misusing private information," creating “uncertainties for doing business in China,"The Wall Street Journal reports, although one of the two argued their work helped clients shine a light on corruption and cheating. (Registration may be required to access this story.)