3 4 April 2006

News:

A Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) survey has reported a 17 per cent rise in companies documenting procedures to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has won approval from a California federal court to seek customer financial data from internet money transfer giant, PayPal, as part of an investigation into tax evasion by US taxpayers.

Information Commissioner Richard Thomas has applied for extra funding of £1.13 million per year from the Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA) to clear a backlog of 700 appeals under the Freedom of Information Act against public authorities that have declined to reveal requested information.

Features:

One of the most frequent questions asked by North American privacy lawyers these days is whether in Europe we have any laws that require companies that have suffered some sort of security breach to notify the individuals affected.

As organisations become increasingly aware of the importance of maximising the commercial value of their databases, the Information Commissioner's Office has issued guidance which explains the key data protection issues for organisations to consider when buying and selling databases. Bridget Treacy, partner at Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, explains the guidance and its significance.

Governments collect data from taxpayers - usually under statutory requirements - however they often fail to make this data commercially available to private enterprise. Henry Goodwin and Richard Graham of Bird & Bird examine the argument that wider access should be granted for the greater good.

General Electric was the first company to have its Binding Corporate Rules approved by the UK's Information Commission. Nuala O'Connor Kelly, Chief Privacy Leader at General Electric, explains why the company chose BCRs rather than Safe Harbor or model contracts to govern the processing and transfer of employment data.

As the third largest fire, rescue and emergency planning authority in the world and having responsibility for managing the capital city, the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) faces some distinct and interesting issues in relation to data protection. Sukhvinder Kaur, the Information Access Manager highlights her role and the challenges posed.

Although it has hit the headlines for other reasons, France's Equal Opportunities Bill has the noble aim of creating parity for all job applicants. Karin Retzer and Marie Hugon of Morrison Foerster examine what this could mean in terms of protecting applicant data.

The use of Privacy Enhancing Technology has evolved from protecting anonymity and privacy into compliance with privacy policy. Steve Kenny, Privacy Services Leader at KPMG UK, examines the issues that companies should take into account when employing PET.