Global News Roundup—September 28-October 5, 2015

In this week’s Privacy Tracker global privacy legislative roundup, read about the “patchwork of state laws” on accessing employee social media accounts in the U.S. and one state’s new law, set to go into effect this month. California’s governor has vetoed bills addressing drone use, while an Oregon House committee has received a report on drones and an EU group is asking regulators to update drone rules. In Canada, there are questions over whether political parties are violating CASL, while a report from Hong Kong looks at the first two organizations found guilty of breaching direct-marketing provisions in the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance. And in case you missed it, read some of the latest reactions and predictions on the Schrems case in the EU.

Latest News

The National Law Review examines the “patchwork of state laws” in the U.S. that address access to employees’ social media accounts, while HR News reports on Maine’s Employee Social Media Privacy law, set to go into effect on October 14.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has “vetoed a trio of bills that would have prohibited civilians from flying aerial drones over wildfires, schools, prisons and jails, despite alarm over close calls with firefighting aircraft,” Los Angeles Times reports.

Las Vegas Now reports on new drone regulations in Nevada.

An op-ed in the Mt. Airy News looks at a new North Carolina law taking effect in December that “adds 35 offenses to a growing list of charges that mandate those accused give a DNA sample to law enforcement.”

The Oregon House Interim Committee on Judiciary has received a report from the Work Group on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Statesman Journal reports.

Penn Live reports on a bill proposed by Sen. Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon County) to place a “two-year moratorium on the use of drones by state and local government agencies to fly over private property and municipalities.”

The Home Depot has asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by financial institutions over a 2014 breach, Biz Journals reports.

ICYMI

With a European Court of Justice decision in the Schrems expected this week, former General Counsel and Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce and current Sidley Austin Senior Counsel Cam Kerry writes for Privacy Perspectives that the advocate general’s “opinion provides a path forward for the European Commission and the U.S. based on their ongoing negotiations for reform of the agreement."

Denis Kelleher examines the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decision in Weltimmo in this report for The Privacy Advisor, noting the ECJ’s "clear analysis of the jurisdiction and responsibilities of different data protection authorities must be of assistance and hopefully will enable the EU to bring those negotiations to a close."

The Data Quality Campaign rounds up state and federal student privacy legislation in this exclusive report for Privacy Tracker.

U.S.

A report in The National Law Review takes a close look at the Judicial Redress Act, approved by the House Judicial Committee last month.

Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Jim McDermott (D-WA) have introduced a bill that would require the most commonly used tax forms to include truncated Social Security numbers, Government Executive reports.

UC Berkeley's Chris Hoofnagle examines the Federal Trade Commission’s TRENDnet case in his blog.

The National Law Review reports the Securities and Exchange Commission has “proposed that persons involved in administrative proceedings be required to submit all documents and other items electronically,” noting that under the proposal, “parties would be required to omit ‘sensitive health information’ that is identifiable by individual.”

An HIT feature looks at the issues surrounding HIPAA and consent.

Inside Higher Ed considers the question of body cameras for campus law enforcement in the context of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

ASIA PACIFIC

Lexology reports on the first two organizations found guilty of breaching new direct-marketing provisions in Hong Kong’s Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.

A Lifehacker report looks at the laws addressing the secret recording of phone calls in Australia.

CANADA

Via their email campaigns, "Canadian politicians may be violating Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), the very law they helped enact," MediaPost reports, citing a study from Toronoto-based itracMarketer, an email marketing and CASL compliance software provider.

EU

JDSupra examines the French Data Protection Authority, the CNIL’s, actions regarding Google and the so-called right to be forgotten.

The European Landowners Organisation is asking " European Union regulators to update the rules in light of the dramatic growth in use of drones carrying cameras by private individuals,” Herts & Essex Observer reports.