In India, the Supreme Court finished up hearings on its “right to privacy” case, and the Modi government has assembled a 10-person panel tasked with studying issues related to data protection in the country. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a pair of bills prohibiting the use of VPNs and anonymous messaging services. A new bill in the U.K. would give the Information Commissioner’s Office greater enforcement powers and offer individuals a right to be forgotten and a right to withdraw consent, among others, and require opt-in consent for the processing of personal data. In the U.S., senators have introduced bills that address internet-of-things security vulnerabilities and create a legal framework for allowing law enforcement to access data of U.S. citizens stored overseas. Read about these developments and more in this week’s Privacy Tracker weekly roundup.
LATEST NEWS
A new U.K. Data Protection Bill would make it easier for people to access personal data held by an organization, withdraw consent for processing and request deletion of data, plus gives regulators increased fining powers, Sky News reports.
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Law360 reports on two Illinois privacy bills and the effect they may have on e-commerce if passed.
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ICYMI
The Colombian Superintendencia of Industry and Commerce has submitted a draft regulation on cross-border data flows establishing "a new option for controllers to be able to recognize, in accordance with the accountability principle, that a data transfer operation ensures an adequate level of data protection equivalent to that ensured within Colombia," Luis Alberto Montezuma writes for Privacy Tracker.
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US
A pair of Senate committees advanced bipartisan bills aimed at boosting cyber skills, Morning Consult reports.
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A three-judge panel of the second most powerful court in the U.S., the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, has ruled customers can sue a health insurer for a 2014 breach in which personal data was compromised, The Hill reports.
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A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has released new legislation intended to confront internet-of-things security vulnerabilities, Reuters reports. Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Steve Daines, R-Mont., Mark Warner, D-Va., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., are co-sponsoring the bill.
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Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Chris Coons, D-Del., have released new legislation that would create a legal framework for allowing law enforcement to access data of U.S. citizens stored overseas, The Hill reports. The International Communications Privacy Act would also mandate that law enforcement notify other countries of the data collection in accordance with their laws, the report states.
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation this week published a final rule that will exempt its Next Generation Identification biometrics database from certain portions of the Privacy Act, Nextgov reports.
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Before leaving for its late-summer recess, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Jessica Rosenworcel and Brendan Carr as two new commissioners for the Federal Communications Commission, Recode reports.
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Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and City Clerk Anna Valencia have put out a request for proposals for technology companies to build a platform for municipal ID cards despite threats of funding cuts from the Trump administration, StateScoop reports.
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ASIA-PACIFIC
The Supreme Court of India finished up its hearings Wednesday on the nation's "right to privacy" case and will reserve its judgment on whether it should consider privacy a fundamental human right, The Wire reports. Some legal thinkers expect the decision to come by the end of August.
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The Financial Express reports India’s Modi government has assembled a 10-person panel tasked with studying issues related to data protection in India.
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CANADA
The Calgary Sun reports on a new standard adopted by Alberta’s police chiefs that applies privacy considerations when deciding to publicly name homicide victims. Released Wednesday, the new document details considerations around a victim's right to privacy, the rights of the victim's family and the public's right to know.
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EUROPE
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a pair of bills prohibiting the use of virtual private networks and eliminating the anonymous use of instant messaging services, Radio Free Europe reports.
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In an interview with Euractiv, European Data Protection Supervisor Giovanni Buttarelli said the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield agreement is "an interim instrument for the short term. Something more robust needs to be conceived."
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European Commission Minister of Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel has filled spots in her cabinet, Euractiv reports.
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