The European Union has made it official; the General Data Protection Regulation, Directive 2016/680 and the Passenger Name Record Directive have been published in the official journal, meaning we have a date for enactment: May 25, 2018. Also in this week’s Privacy Tracker legislative roundup, Ontario’s legislature passed a new health care privacy bill, a bill in Trinidad and Tobago boosting government surveillance is moving forward despite objections, and Australia’s attorney-general is handling requests for exemption from the new data retention requirements. In the U.S., New Jersey has a new law against “upskirting;” Colorado’s student privacy bill and Connecticut’s cellphone privacy bill both await governors’ signatures; and Nebraska and Tennessee have amended breach notification laws going into effect in July.

LATEST NEWS

Ontario’s legislature has passed the Health Information Protection Act in its third reading. The act aims to improve privacy, accountability and transparency in health care, according to a news release.

The Trinidad and Tobago government is holding strong on a bill to bolster surveillance in the country, despite some senator’s objections, reports Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.

ICYMI

Rafae Bhatti, CIPM, CIPP/US, writes for Privacy Tracker about what’s at stake in the Spokeo Supreme Court case — namely, consumers’ ability “to seek redress for violation of their legally protected rights.”

In this interview with Angelique Carson, CIPP/US, for The Privacy Advisor, newly appointed U.K. Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham talks about her steep learning curve as she takes over privacy enforcement duties on a new continent.

U.S.

Three House panels are lobbying to be the authority on the encryption debate, The Hill reports. Leaders from the Homeland Security, Energy and Commerce, and Judiciary panels are aiming to take the lead in balancing user privacy with law enforcement to access encrypted phones.

ASIA PACIFIC

EUROPE

Italy’s Data Protection Authority has mandated that Facebook disclose details of an instance of trolling in a case where the user claims the social network responded unsatisfactorily, International Business Times reports.

LATIN AMERICA