3 2 February 2006

News:

The Article 29 Working Party's latest guidance on international data transfers underlines privacy regulators' determination to persuade companies to use frameworks such as Binding Corporate Rules, Safe Harbour and the EU Model Clauses to protect data rather than rely on Article 26 exemptions.

A Financial Services Authority (FSA) report says that banks must take a more positive approach to protecting consumers from the risks of online fraud.

The UK Information Commissioner has said that consumers must make their own decision whether to use Google's new desktop search tool, despite concerns that the tool threatens individual privacy.

Features:

This issue of Data Protection Law & Policy marks the start of its third year. Although this may not be a huge achievement, it is a good opportunity to stand back from our data retention policies, our opt-out mechanisms, our RFID statements and our BCR projects for a second, and think about what we are all doing.

Organisations considering launching a telemarketing campaign must comply with a plethora of legal rules to avoid potentially damaging publicity. Paul Garland and H.Kristjan Larusson of White & Case examine the regulatory hurdles that must be overcome to ensure a successful campaign.

This recent Information Tribunal case raises the important issue of the obligation placed on a public sector organisation to recover deleted data following an information request under the FOI Act. Clare Wardle, IP & Commercial Director, Royal Mail, assesses the Tribunal's findings.

With the development of our litigation culture, employers are wary when providing written references to former employees, particularly as they can be accessed by individuals under the Data Protection Act. Bridget Treacy and Nick Dent of Barlow Lyde and Gilbert examine the issues in light of the recent guidance issued by the Information Commissioner's Office.

Since the Woolf reforms, it is no longer possible to ignore electronic documents as a source of evidence in commercial litigation. As organisations increasingly move towards a paperless office, potential evidence which contains personal data means document disclosures must comply with the relevant provisions of the Data Protection Act. Lucy Inger of The Privacy Practice examines the issues.

With its latest guidance on international data transfers, the Article 29 Working Party has addressed the difficult issue of exemptions to the requirement that data must be adequately protected when transferred. Victoria Hordern, a solicitor at Field Fisher Waterhouse, examines the guidance.

Two decisions from the Dutch courts on the obligation of ISPs to disclose subscriber data have highlighted that it is not only criminal law authorities that can demand personal data. With fears that these cases mark the end of anonymity on the internet, Hester de Vries and Madelon van Tol of Dutch firm Kennedy Van der Laan examine the judgments and their implications.