Global News Roundup—October 27-November 3, 2014

Canada has occupied much of the privacy news this week with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner releasing its annual report and the legislature looking at bills to amend the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, create a missing persons’ DNA databank and expand the powers of CSIS. Also in this week’s Privacy Tracker roundup, read about the Australian Parliament’s delay in its vote on the data retention bill, Germany calling for the retention of passenger data and actions by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

LATEST NEWS

Canada’s Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney introduced Bill C-44, which would broaden the powers of CSIS including authorizing Canadian spies abroad to break the laws of a foreign country when investigating threats to the security of Canada, reports The Canadian Press.

The Canadian House of Commons is discussing Bill S-4, which would amend the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act to include mandatory breach notification provisions, reports InfoSecurity Magazine.

Canada’s Conservatives’ latest budget bill includes the creation of a national missing persons’ DNA databank, reports The Globe and Mail.

A German court wants clarification from the European Court of Justice on whether dynamic IP addresses constitute private data, reports The Register.

ICYMI

"It's not just online services and websites targeted toward children that need to be diligent about following Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) regulations," writes Joanne Furtsch, CIPP/US, CIPP/C, of TRUSTe in this Privacy Tracker post.

In this Privacy Tracker post, Renato Opice Blum and Renato Leite Monteiro write about a recent proposal in Brazil's Congress to implement RTBF in that country.

U.S.

The Federal Communications Commission intends to fine TerraCom and its affiliate YourTel America $10 million for several violations of laws protecting the privacy of phone customers' personal information.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has said she is considering changes to the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act to address privacy concerns, The Hill reports, but has acknowledged that might not be enough to get the law passed.

IAPP VP of Research and Education Omer Tene in this Privacy Perspectives post breaks down the Federal Trade Commission’s reasonable standard and how it can help you navigate the uncertainty of "reasonable security."

The Privacy Advisor outlines California Attorney General’s California Data Breach Report,which sets forth recommendations that call for more readable breach notices, increased use of technology like chip cards to devalue stolen credit card data and for the healthcare industry to employ widespread encryption.

In what was a busy week, the Federal Communications Commission announced it has joined the Global Privacy Enforcement Network.

CANADA

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) has released its annual report and a privacy research paper entitled Metadata and Privacy: A Technical and Legal Overview.

The Canadian Forces Counter Intelligence Unit has issued a new directive regarding social media practices in the wake of last month's attacks, reports CTV News.

EU

Hogan Lovells Partner Eduardo Ustaran, CIPP/E, writes in a blog post, “2015 may be the year that sees the culmination of a legal modernisation process that has been running for the best part of four years.”

Hunton & Williams' Privacy and Information Security Law Blog examines the Council of the EU's proposed revisions to the compliance obligations of data controllers and data processors and the risk-based approach to compliance.

Germany's government is calling for "EU-wide retention of flight passenger data to combat the risk of terror," and that move is "sparking opposition in the European Parliament," EurActiv reports.

ASIA PACIFIC

The Australian government will delay a parliamentary vote on a mandatory metadata retention bill until next year, The Guardian reports.