The Australian government has released a list of legislation it plans to propose in the spring Parliament sittings, including a mandatory data breach notification bill. Germany is considering loosening its tough privacy laws after a series of terror attacks. The U.K. is considering a plan to sell patient data to privacy companies. And in the U.S., California has two new privacy laws protecting the data of students and applicants to its health insurance exchange, while a bill to protect biometric and geolocation data died in the Senate. Read about all this and more in this week’s Privacy Tracker legislative roundup.
LATEST NEWS
The Australian government plans to propose its mandatory breach notification legislation in the spring Parliament session, reports Computerworld.
A plan for expanding privacy protections for biometric and geolocation data died in the California Senateover concerns that amendments to it needed more attention, reports The Recorder.
California has a new law prohibiting the information provided on Covered California applications to be shared with private companies, reports Village News.
A new California law limits the data public schools are allowed to collect from students, reports The Press Enterprise.
Consumer Watchdog is concerned about the removal of privacy protections in a California autonomous vehicle bill aimed at allowing the testing of driverless vehicles in Contra Costa County, reports East Bay Times.
ICYMI
In its recent LabMD ruling, the Federal Trade Commission found that the mere fact that sensitive medical records were publicly available was enough to support a finding of substantial consumer injury. IAPP Westin Fellow Gabriel Maldoff, CIPP/US, provides in-depth analysis for Privacy Tracker.
Angelique Carson, CIPP/US, reports for The Privacy Advisor on the early adopters of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield.
US
Speaking at the Technology Policy Institute in Aspen, Colorado, Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said the FTC is working to broaden the definition of personally identifiable information, reports FedScoop.
ASIA PACIFIC
New Zealand Justice Minister Amy Adams has announced plans to introduce a new law meaning government agencies will share more data on prisoners, reports Stuff.co.nz.
EUROPE
A series of terrorist attacks in Germany have the country questioning its strict privacy laws, The Wall Street Journal reports.