April 26, 2010

DATA PROTECTION LEADERS FOCUS ON SOCIAL- NETWORKING PRIVACY

Data protection authorities from a range of countries held a teleconference to discuss how they can work together to protect what they see as a steady erosion of privacy by social networking services, and the European Union too is studying what role it can play. They may not be able to hold the social networking wave back, but policymakers are looking at what they can do to limit what they see as the “Big Brother”-like role of some sites.
Read the article: http://gigalaw.com/2010/04/22/data-protection-leaders-focus-on-social-networking-privacy/ (Source: Reuters)

SEC WORKERS VIEWED PORN ONLINE

As the country was sinking into its worst financial crisis in more than 70 years, Security and Exchange Commission employees and contractors cruised porn sites and viewed sexually explicit pictures using government computers, according to an agency report obtained by CNN. “During the past five years, the SEC OIG (Office of Inspector General) substantiated that 33 SEC employees and or contractors violated Commission rules and policies, as well as the government-wide Standards of Ethical Conduct, by viewing pornographic, sexually explicit or sexually suggestive images using government computer resources and official time,” said a summary of the investigation by the inspector general’s office.
Read the article: http://gigalaw.com/2010/04/23/sec-workers-viewed-porn-online-report-says/ (Source: CNN.com)

April 21, 2010

TEN COUNTRIES TELL GOOGLE TO STRENGTHEN PRIVACY

Privacy officials from ten countries sent Google Inc. a letter demanding that the Internet giant build more privacy protections into its services, the latest sign of increasingly international anxiety over Google’s power. The letter, reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, was signed by officials in Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Read the article: http://gigalaw.com/2010/04/19/ten-countries-tell-google-to-strengthen-privacy/ (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

SUPREME COURT HEARS CASE ON E-MAIL PRIVACY AT WORK

An Obama administration lawyer urged the Supreme Court to rule that employees usually have no right to privacy when they send personal messages on computers, cellphones or other devices supplied by their employer. Nationwide, most employers have adopted policies telling workers they have no right to privacy when they use computers and cellphones supplied by an employer, said Deputy Solicitor Gen. Neal Katyal.
Read the article: http://gigalaw.com/2010/04/19/supreme-court-hears-case-on-e-mail-privacy-at-work/ (Source: Los Angeles Times)

April 14, 2010

FACEBOOK TO DISCUSS CHILD PROTECTION ISSUES

Facebook executives are due to meet the head of a British child protection agency in Washington to discuss safety measures on the social networking site. It has been criticized by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) center for not installing “panic buttons” on every page.

Read the article: http://gigalaw.com/2010/04/12/facebook-to-discuss-child-protection-issues/ (Source: BBC News)


April 8, 2010

FINALLY, THE LAW IS HERE

By Abu Bakar Munir

The long wait is over. On Monday 5 April 2010, the Dewan Rakyat at about 7.30 p.m, after quite an exciting and interesting debate, passed the Malaysian Personal Data Protection Bill. It was a special privilege to be able to assist the Minister in responding to the questions from the Members of Parliament (MPs). All of them, from BN and opposition parties, acknowledged and supported the Bill. They differ, however, in term of what should be in it. It is a special thrill to see the passage of this crucial law.

The first in ASEAN, the law provides rules and regulations as to how data users should manage and process personal data of their workers, customers, suppliers, etc. The law also gives certain rights to the data subjects. Some new criminal offences have been created in relation to processing of personal data.

For the existing data users, they are required to comply with the law within three months from the date of coming into operation of the Act. Companies and organizations are required to be registered as data users to enable them to process personal data.

Data subjects, under the law, among others, would have the right to prevent processing likely to cause damage or distress. More importantly, the law empowers data subjects the right to prevent processing of personal data for purposes of direct marketing.

Data protection is not rocket science. It is about respect and common sense. Good data protection is good business.