In this week’s Privacy Tracker legislative roundup, read about the possibility that France could see increased sanctions for data protection violations sooner than the enactment of the General Data Protection Regulation; a ruling in Italy that affects telemarketing calls; and the protection of genetic information under Japan’s revised Personal Information Protection Law. In the U.S., the Judicial Redress Act has cleared both houses of Congress and is expected to get the president’s signature; two Senators have introduced legislation to override state attempts to weaken encryption – legislatures in New York and California are expected to tackle this issue soon; and Florida is moving toward legislation dealing with how to handle digital assets after an individual’s death.

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The French National Assembly has voted to align its sanctioning powers with the proposed GDPR – meaning France could see higher fines sooner than it would under the GDPR, reports Hogan Lovells Chronicle of Data Protection.

Legislatures in California and New York will soon tackle bills aiming to loosen encryption on cellphones in order to allow law enforcement to access data helpful to solving criminal cases, San Francisco Chronicle reports.

ICYMI

Article 29 Working Party head Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin announced the group’s action plan for the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation, Jedidiah Bracy, CIPP/E, CIPP/US, reports for The Privacy Advisor.

As part of his 2017 budget proposal for the U.S., President Obama is including $19 billion for cybersecurty efforts to go toward a Cybersecurity National Action Plan and establishing a permanent Federal Privacy Council, among other things. IAPP Publications Director Sam Pfeifle examines the executive order, and talks with Department of Homeland Security CPO Karen Neuman, for The Privacy Advisor.

U.S.

After quickly passing through the House and Senate, Congressional supporters of the Judicial Redress Act expect President Obama to sign it into law, The Hill reports. The bill would allow EU netizens to contend U.S. misuse of their data, the report states.

The Verge reports, Reps. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., and Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, have introduced the ENCRYPT Act of 2016, or the Ensuring National Constitutional Rights of Your Private Telecommunications Act, which would override several state laws attempting to weaken encryption in electronic communication.

Ars Technica reports on a Utah bill that would amend the state's criminal code to include so-called doxing — the process of leaking someone's personally identifiable information online against their consent — but, critics fear the bill's broad language would stifle free speech.

EUROPE

The UK Intelligence and Security Committee says the Investigatory Powers Bill lacks clarity and transparency, and it recommends legislators work to address with greater clarity the issues of "equipment interference, bulk personal datasets and communications data," the Guardian reports.