1 5 June 2004

News:

A bill requiring employers to inform employees that their e-activities are being monitored has been approved by the state Senate of California and now goes to the Assembly. Activities such as emails and websurfing can lawfully be monitored and are - by over 50% of organisations surveyed by the American Management Association, and levels are increasing. If passed, the law would require employers to give written notice to employees of the electronic activities they monitor.

Key stakeholders in the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) debate have warned that consumer trust in RFID technology must be gained to avoid a repeat of the GM foods debacle and avoid the “strong likelihood of a consumer backlash”.

The recent agreement to permit air passenger data transfer to the US from the EU continues to cause controversy. The European Data Protection Directive only allows personal data to be transferred outside the Union if the recipient country can ensure an “adequate” level of data privacy protection.

Features:

During the 1992 US presidential campaign, the Democrats’ campaign manager, James Carville, coined the phrase “it’s the economy, stupid” as a graphic reminder of what American voters really cared about. Bill Clinton won. In business, it is equally obvious what matters the most. Despite all the fluffy stuff that is wrapped around business models and public image exercises, at the end of the day, directors are paid to deliver and their minds are more likely to be focused on one thing above anything else: the bottom line.

The Freedom of Information Act became law in 2000. Some sections of the Act are already in force. However the most significant parts of the Act come into force on 1 January 2005. These are the public rights of access. From January the public will have rights to the information held by over 100,000 public authorities. Anyone anywhere will have the right to make a request of a public sector authority - from parish councils to major Whitehall departments - and be told whether or not the authority holds the information requested, and if it does have the information supplied. This article describes the government’s strategy for ensuring the Act is implemented properly, and that the full benefits of the legislation are realised.

Kent Connects is implementing a single change of address notification system. The scheme had to address the data protection and other legal issues that local authorities face when sharing data. Kent County Council has recently received confirmation from the Information Commissioner’s Office that its scheme, called KOATS - Kent Connects, is lawful. This article outlines the structure developed by Kent County Council and its legal advisors Bird & Bird.

This article examines a number of recent legal developments which suggest that the gap between the level of data privacy regulation in the European Union and the rest of the world is becoming narrower, thanks largely to increased privacy legislation in the US and elsewhere. In addition, there is evidence of increased co-operation between national data protection authorities on cross-border data protection issues.

Compliance with data protection and privacy legislation can be a double-edged sword when trying to provide meaningful customer care. This article takes a practical look at the issues of achieving your business objectives while keeping both customers and your data protection team happy.

Today, corporate directors are faced with a wide array of responsibilities arising from their board membership. Although specific requirements may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, directors generally have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the corporation and to exercise reasonable care, diligence and skill in managing the corporation. Privacy is one of the key issues on which directors must focus. This article looks at how corporations can address their privacy responsibilities and the benefits of so doing.