Germany has released a revised version of its draft cybersecurity law and Zimbabwe is drafting a law to regulate social media, while journalists in the Philippines are voicing concern that a privacy bill in front of Congress could be used to squash free speech. In the U.S., California is leading the charge in student privacy with its Assembly passing a bill prohibiting use of student data for profit and a drone law is headed to the governor’s desk; Illinois law enforcement must now get a warrant before using certain GPS data, and Michigan’s Video Rental Privacy Act may apply to more than videos. Read about these topics, plus, promises from the Australian government on the data retention scheme, in this week’s Privacy Tracker weekly roundup.
LATEST NEWS
The Australian government has promised to outline what, exactly, it will require telecoms to store under its data retention law, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
New Territory Privacy Principles are now in effect in the Australia Capital Territory, “giving the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) responsibility for investigating, resolving complaints, providing advice and conducting privacy assessments of ACT public sector agencies,” according to an OAIC release.
The Peninsula reports The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines say a bill in front of the Philippines Congress could curtail press freedom and the right to free expression.
Illinois has a new law requiring law enforcement to get a warrant before accessing current or future location data from a tracking device, reports The Daily Northwestern.
U.S.
A California bill that would place strict regulations on how law enforcement and other government agencies can use drones is headed to the governor's desk, Reuters reports.
A U.S. District Court opinion this week indicates Michigan's Video Rental Privacy Act may apply to more than videos, TheNational Law Review reports.
In a column for MIT Technology Review, Wilson Sonsini Senior Privacy Counsel Christopher Kuner analyzes the recent efforts by Microsoft to resist a U.S. warrant for users' data stored in servers in Ireland, noting, “… multinationals with a presence in the United States appear to be trapped between the data access requirements of U.S. law enforcement agencies and foreign privacy laws."
CANADA
Law Times reports that privacy class-actions are on the rise in Canada.
EU
Hunton & Williams reports on Germany’s revised draft cybersecurity law, proposed August 19.
The UK's most senior judge indicated privacy law may need a rewrite in this era of "lightning-fast Internet communications," The Telegraph reports.
UK councils are seeking "a change in the law to prevent them having to sell voters' personal details to junk mail firms,"Daily Mail reports.
TheNew York Times reports that an Irish government committee has been established to select the successor to current Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes.
Despite a European Court ruling calling the Swiss data retention directive invalid, Telecompaper reports, the Swiss Federal Council still aims to extend the time telecoms must retain customer data to 12 months.
ASIA PACIFIC
Australian Privacy Commissioner John Edwards wants to increase the Office of the Privacy Commissioner's powers "so he can name and shame companies and agencies who breach customers' personal privacy," The Dominion Post reports.