This week’s Privacy Tracker legislative roundup includes updates on the U.K. Investigatory Powers Bill, the latest on the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield and one researcher’s fears that the EU General Data Protection Regulation would kill cloud computing. Also, read about a bill set to pass through India’s Parliament that would allow federal agencies to access Aadhaar – the country’s new biometric ID system. In the U.S., the Email Privacy Act is scheduled for markup in April and a Senate committee has approved a bill including drone regulations.

LATEST NEWS

The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Technology has approved a bill that would allow the Federal Aviation Authority to create drone laws that pre-empt state and local laws, report Government Technology.

The U.S. House has passed a bill that would extend an exempt small businesses from the Federal Communications Commission’s transparency rules under the Open Internet order, reports Broadcasting Cable. It now goes to the Senate.

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ICYMI

Researcher and lawyer Kuan Hon for Privacy Perspectives that the General Data Protection Regulation may kill cloud computing as we know it.

Jedidiah Bracy, CIPP/E, CIPP/US, reports for The Privacy Advisor on a LIBE Committee hearing, at which representatives from the U.S. government and the European Commission once again made the case for the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield.

U.S.

The Email Privacy Act is set for markup in April, Morning Consult reports. The bill would reform the 30-year-old Electronic Communications Privacy Act and has extensive bipartisan support in the House.

Speaking at a webcast hosted by MIT Friday, European Commission Vice President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Andip and U.S. Commerce Department Secretary Penny Pritzker discussed digital trade, particularly the proposed Privacy Shield arrangement and the need for a digital single market in Europe.

A Department of Homeland Security review has revealed that an information-sharing program required by under the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act has privacy protection issues, The Hill reports.

ASIA PACIFIC

The Parliament in India is set to pass a law that would give federal agencies access to Aadhaar — the world’s largest biometric database — raising concerns about widespread government surveillance, Reuters reports.

EUROPE

At the CeBIT trade fair on Monday, Digital Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield agreement should go live this June, EurActiv reports. 

The European data protection supervisor has released a working document covering relevant privacy and data protection case law in the EU between Dec. 1, 2014 and Dec. 31, 2015.

The controversial Investigatory Powers Bill passed its second reading in Parliament on Tuesday, bringing it one step closer to fruition, Fortune reports. The proposed legislation garnered 281 votes for as opposed to only 15 against, with both the Labour and Scottish National parties abstaining. 

The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office unveiled dpreform.org.uk on its official site for posting information about data protection reform, including under the General Data Protection Regulation.