The EU General Data Protection Regulation went into effect and with it, NOYB.EU filed legal complaints against Google, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp over how they obtain consent. Belgium's Privacy Commission is now named the Data Protection Authority and has increased powers. The Chilean Senate unanimously approved a constitutional reform to ensure personal data protection. In the U.S., senators introduce legislation that would encourage companies to adopt the privacy protections included in the GDPR, and Vermont became the first state to pass a law regulating data brokers. Read about this and more in this week's Privacy Tracker global legislative roundup.
LATEST NEWS
Data protection rights group NOYB.EU filed legal complaints against Google, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp over the way they obtain consent under the new EU General Data Protection Regulation requirements, ABC News reports.
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Australia’s acting privacy and information commissioner, Angelene Falk, ruled in a long-running investigation into the government’s release of personal information about the blogger Andie Fox and decided that the government acted “reasonably,” The Guardian reports.
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Telecompaper reports that Belgium’s Privacy Commission has been renamed the Data Protection Authority and received increased powers after the EU General Data Protection Regulation took effect.
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British Columbia's information and privacy commissioner Michael McEvoy said his office should oversee the handling of government records after a series of concerning events pertaining to records keeping activity, the Vancouver Sun reports.
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The National Privacy Commission of the Philippines is backing the creation of a national ID system called the Philippine Identification System, PTV reports.
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U.S. Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., joined to co-sponsor a congressional resolution, encouraging U.S. companies to adopt the privacy protections included in the GDPR, Broadcasting & Cable reports.
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ACalifornia federal court ruled that the Department of Education violated the Privacy Act when it used Social Security Administration data in its calculations for loan forgiveness, The Hill reports.
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Vermont passed a new law to regulate data brokers that buy and sell personal information, requiring them to register with the state, take standard security measures and notify authorities in the event of a data breach, TechCrunch reports.
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ICYMI
Last week, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ board of directors elected to use its authority to enact an emergency temporary specification to bring WHOIS, the internet’s Domain Name System, into compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation and with it, ostensibly ending what has become a polarizing debate between the intellectual property community and privacy advocates. The Privacy Advisor, Molly Hulefeld has the story in this Privacy Advisor exclusive.
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David Meyer writes for The Privacy Advisor that a lot of EU member states do not have implementing acts in place for the EU General Data Protection Regulation. While not strictly necessary, this creates a level of confusion for companies in jurisdictions where the new regulation clashes with still-active national implementations of the old EU Data Protection Directive.
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In this Privacy Tracker post, Kaira Wells offers an overview of provisions around data retention in Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the EU General Data Protection Regulation, noting, "It may be reasonable to construe GDPR data retention through the lens of Canadian law."
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Privacy Commissioner of Canada Daniel Therrien announced the release of new guidelines on meaningful consent and inappropriate data practices as well as a restructuring of the agency and the investigation of six data brokers. Jedidiah Bracy, CIPP, has the story for The Privacy Advisor.
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US
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, reintroduced an update to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 called the Do Not Track Kids Act. The bill would work to add stronger protections for children online and would extend COPPA protection to include children 15 and under, Broadcasting & Cable reports.
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New guidance from the U.S. Department of Education’s Privacy Technical Assistance Center found that parents, not minor students, must consent to college admissions surveys and data sharing, the Future of Privacy Forum reports.
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ASIA-PACIFIC
A University of Sydney Business School professor said Australia’s data privacy laws are “unsustainable” with the EU General Data Protection Regulation going into effect, B&T reports.
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Former Managing Director of IBM Australia Andrew Stevens has been identified as the interim chair of Australia’s Consumer Data Right’s Data Standards Body, ZDNet reports.
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CANADA
Following the revelation of Canada’s biggest telecommunications companies sharing location data, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada announced it will investigate the practice, the Global News reports.
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Amendments to the Prince Edward Island’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act would cover the province’s postsecondary schools and its four largest municipalities, The Guardian reports.
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EUROPE
EU Justice Commissioner Věra Jourová said she will advocate for a new data access agreement when she meets with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, EURACTIV reports.
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The European Data Protection Supervisor announced the European Council and Parliament have informally agreed to data protection rules for EU institutions and bodies.
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Yelp has filed a complaint with the EU Competition Commissioner against Google, alleging that the company is harming both competitors and consumers by giving preferred placement to its own offerings over offerings from rivals, the Financial Times reports.
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Computer Weekly reports on the efforts the Finnish government announced it will be increasing the funding of both the Finnish Armed Forces and Suojelupoliisi, the two agencies tasked with guarding the country against cyberattacks.
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The U.K. is pushing for a new data-sharing agreement with the European Union following Brexit, Reuters reports.
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LATIN AMERICA
The Chilean Senate unanimously approved a constitutional reform to ensure personal data protection, Derecho de la Red reports.
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