2 12 December 2005

News:

The controversial Data Retention Directive won approval from the European Parliament on Wednesday 14 December despite misgivings from members of the European Parliament and anger from the communications industry.

The House of Lords has refused Michael Durant leave to appeal out of time in his case against the Financial Services Authority on the basis that he had failed to show that the case could be won.

Indian software industry leaders are lobbying the government to tighten up data protection legis-lation to help the burgeoning outsourcing sector.

Features:

Most privacy professionals around the world are aware of the soft-touch, business friendly and pragmatic approach to data protection law of the UK Information Commissioner’s Office. This approach has prompted admiration by some, incredulity and envy by others and considerable suspicion among the so-called “purists”. However, it was a recent speech by departing Deputy Commissioner, Francis Aldhouse, that proved to me that this is a deliberate, well thought out and forward looking way of addressing today’s data protection requirements.

As businesses increasingly look to third party partnering arrangements in a bid to boost revenues, further challenges are placed on our data protection regulations to accommodate these initiatives. Bridget Treacy, a partner at Barlow Lyde & Gilbert considers the issues.

With October 2005 marking the tenth anniversary of the Data Protection Directive, the challenges in regulating the use of personal data continue as we generate and use ever-increasing information. Dr Susanne Lace of the National Consumer Council examines the issues.

1 January 2005 signalled a new level of openness for the UK public sector when the long-anticipated Freedom of Information Act 2000 came into force. In this article, Ingrid Wilson looks back at the Act’s first year of operation through the eyes of one London-based local authority.

Following his recent article on data protection developments in the Czech Republic, Dr Karel Neuwirt charts the history of data protection in Eastern Europe, looking at how countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina are developing regulatory models based on EU requirements.

Rapid growth of the internet and the increasing use of electronic data in commerce highlighted the limitations of South Africa’s recognition of data protection principles at both common law and statutory levels. Reinhardt Buys of Buys Inc. Attorneys examines the recently proposed Protection of Personal Information Bill, designed to address these issue.

The recent proliferation of “phishing,” a new form of internet identity theft, has prompted California to enact legislation authorizing lawsuits against the perpetrators of such scams. California’s Anti-Phishing Act of 2005 (the “Act”) takes effect next year, and is the first law of its kind.

With few Latin American countries currently adopting effective data protection frameworks, the Spanish Data Protection Agency has been recommended as a model of authority at the recent Latin American Conference on Personal Data Protection.