2 7 July 2005

News:

The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry in India is setting up a self-regulatory body in a move designed to allay security and data privacy concerns of US and European outsourcing companies. The body will be modelled on the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and is expected to be launched in 6-10 months.

The London bombings have illustrated the difficulty in balancing the conflicting demands of the protection of individual freedoms, including privacy and data protection, and the need to protect the public.

A group of legal experts on consumer protection policy on Friday 22 July debated the issue of whether federal laws currently passing through Congress would help secure personal data.

Features:

There is talk in data protection circles these days about a slightly wicked - and potentially very embarrassing - paradox. Apparently, the Information Commissioner’s Office has been at the receiving end of an FOI request concerning the famous letter sent by the European Commission to the UK Government a year ago questioning the adequacy of the implementation of the 1995 data protection directive in the United Kingdom. Although, technically speaking, the ICO could probably duck the issue by pointing out that the appropriate recipient of that request should be the original addressee of the letter, if things are escalated, the ICO could still end up having to make a controversial decision on something that is very close to its heart.

The Employment Practices Data Protection Code is billed as the practical guide to the Data Protection Act 1998 for employers. The Code itself is not legally binding, but contains benchmarks and checklists which are designed to help employers comply with the Act. Failure to follow the Act can amount to a criminal offence. Warren Wayne a partner from Bird & Bird gives an overview of the Code.

Organisations that operate internationally and wish to market their products or services across Europe face a complex maze of country-specific regulations. Despite a carefully negotiated directive dealing with privacy and electronic communications, subtle yet important national differences remain. Eduardo Ustaran, from Field Fisher Waterhouse, London in association with members of the Privacy and Information Law Unit of the European Legal Alliance examine the issues.

In the first of a two-part article, Stephen Mason looks at the data protection issues affecting elected local politicians accessing communications sent to them electronically by their councils.

Concerns that the full impact of the Freedom of Information Act has yet to be realised means that staff training is vital. Victoria Reinthal explains how the British Computer Society’s accredited course addresses this

Jersey is hoping to achieve a positive assessment for adequacy from the European Commission once the The Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005 comes into force. Wendy Benjamin, a partner with Bailhache Labesse looks at how the legislation has addressed issues arising from Jersey’s role as a financial centre.

Samantha Thomas and William Blunt of Philippsohn Crawfords Berwald examine the US case of O’Brien v O’Brien on the admissability of spyware as evidence, and consider the UK position.