Global News Roundup — November 14 - 21, 2016

In this week’s Privacy Tracker legislative roundup, read about the passing of the controversial U.K. Investigatory Powers Act, which offers the government increased surveillance powers and continues to draw ire from privacy advocates. China has passed a cybersecurity law, which defines a right to personal information as a basic civil right and includes a data localization provision. In the U.S., an appeals court ruling has changed interpretation of the unfairness prong of the Federal Trade Commission Act; efforts toward set-top box regulation are on shaky ground after the Federal Communications Commission wiped most major items off its monthly agenda; and lots of predictions on the effect of the Trump administration’s cybersecurity plan.  

LATEST NEWS

A bipartisan group of Senators has proposed the Review the Rule Act to delay changes to Rule 41, which allows the government to tap citizens’ computers, reports BuzzFeed.

Under Illinois’ newly amended Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act, asking employees to like an employer’s Facebook page or retweet company posts is illegal, reports Cook County Record.

ICYMI

In this Privacy Tracker post, Wei Fan, CIPM, CIPP/C, CIPP/E, CIPP/G, CIPP/US, CIPT, and Jason Meng write about China’s new Cybersecurity Law and the draft General Principles of Civil Law, which defines a right to personal information as a basic civil right.

In this one-on-one interview for The Privacy Advisor, IAPP Publications Director Sam Pfeifle asked Andrus Ansip, vice president of the European Commission, about data localization laws, Privacy Shield, the GDPR, and how all of it may be affected by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has dealt a blow to the Federal Trade Commission's interpretation of the "unfairness" prong of the FTC Act. In this post for Privacy Tracker, IAPP Director of Research Rita Heimes, CIPP/US analyzes this landmark ruling in the LabMD case.  

IAPP European correspondent for The Privacy Advisor David Meyer takes a deep dive into reactions and predictions for the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield under a Trump administration in the U.S.

US

Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., have agreed to block the confirmation of Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, The Washington Post reports. Democratic aides and political analysts say the hold signals a shift by the Democratic Party to back more outspoken advocates of consumer protection.

The Office of Management and Budget has offered a new definition for a major cyber incident, Federal News Radio reports.

Ars Technica reports, the Federal Communications Commission has removed every major item from its monthly agenda, which could mean that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's attempt to regulate set-top boxes could also be on the chopping block, the report states.

Analysts have "mixed reactions" to President-elect Donald Trump's newly released plan for cybersecurity, saying that in some cases, many of his proposals are already being done, and in others, they constitute a "massive undertaking," CNN Money reports.

A recently amended California state law now requires data breach notifications to be sent to residents when encrypted personal data has been breached, Health IT Security reports.

ASIA PACIFIC

At the Barun ICT Research Conference 2016 & Asia Privacy Bridge Forum in Seoul, South Korea on 2 Nov., the Hong Kong Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, the Korea Internet & Security Agency, Barun ICT Research Center, and others from the Asia-Pacific privacy community signed the Asia Privacy Bridge Forum Joint Declaration 2016, the PCPD announced in a press release.

In an op-ed for The Jakarta Post, Aulia Dwi Nastiti criticizes a proposal to add a right to be forgotten in Indonesia's 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions Law.

CANADA

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is pushing the Prime Minister’s Office for the ability to circumvent digital roadblocks, including obtaining basic subscriber information without a warrant in matters of national security, CBC News reports.

EUROPE

The U.K.’s massive new surveillance law, known as the “Snoopers’ Charter,” was finalized and passed by both parliamentary houses, ZDNet reports.

Technology Law Dispatch reports that the European Commission tabled two draft amendments addressing adequacy decisions after the CJEU Schrems decision. 

The European Medicines Agency has released data anonymization guidance on its Policy 0070, a policy that focuses on "the publication of clinical data for medicines,” Norton Rose Fulbright's Data Protection Report states.