Overview -- Project Compliance 09/08/2004

Privacy International is monitoring the enactment of legislation implimenting the European Union's Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data (data protection directive). PI is also monitoring other countries and companies' compliance with the directive and transborder data flows. PI intends pursuing legal action on behalf of European citizens against companies which violate European privacy rules by transferring information to countries which do not have adequate protections. Finally PI also monitors the development of privacy regulations around the world.

Top News

Privacy and the new UK government 13/05/2010
Privacy and the new UK government: the local and international implications, and open letter from PI's Director to our Trustees, Advisory Board supporters and partners.

Background Information

Safe Harbour 22/07/2001
Information about the controversial Safe Harbour legal settlement allowing transborder dataflows between EU countries and the U.S.

Key PI Resources

PI and the Madrid Declaration on Global Privacy Standards 05/11/2009
In a crisply worded declaration, over 100 civil society organizations and privacy experts from more than 40 countries have set out an expansive statement on the future of privacy.

Leading surveillance societies in the EU and the World 2007 28/12/2007

Privacy International's rankings of privacy protection around the world.

Overview of Privacy 17/12/2007
Privacy is a fundamental human right. It underpins human dignity and other values such as freedom of association and freedom of speech. It has become one of the most important human rights of the modern age. Here we review this essential human right.

News and Developments

German Federal Constitutional Court overturns law on data retention 09/03/2010
Germany’s highest court last week declared that a controversial law requiring telecommunications data to be stored for six months for possible use by law enforcement as unconstitutional. The ruling demands that all data stored so far has to be deleted immediately. The court did not rule out the retention of data as such but demands stricter controls to be put in place before the law can come into force again.

Press Releases

Privacy organisations praise vote of European Parliament on SWIFT data deal 11/02/2010
Privacy International and EPIC praised a vote today in the European Parliament today that rejected the transfer of financial records to the United States under an interim agreement.

News and Developments

PI explains risks to census data by using U.S. contractor without strong protections 28/02/2008
Privacy International has briefed the UK House of Commons Treasury subcommittee on the risks to UK census data if a company with a U.S. data centre is called on to run the census. Under weak U.S. laws on safeguarding personal information, the UK census data could be abused without any knowledge of the UK government.

PI Comments on UK Tax Agency Data Breach 20/11/2007
PI warns of “imminent and unprecedented” criminal attacks following major data leak in the UK.

UK Parliamentary Committee questions Child Database 08/04/2005
A report from the House of Commons education Committee cautions against the creation of a database that tracks all children within the UK.

NZ Privacy Commissioner Releases 2004 Annual Report (PDF) 06/12/2004
The NZ Privacy Commissioner released her annual report for 2003-04 on 30 November 2004. The office handles nearly 1,000 complaints each year. The largest complaint was for government bodies denying individuals access to their own information following by unauthorized diclosure of health or personal information. Authorized information sharing is also at all-time high levels.

Australian Privacy Commissioner Announces Review of Privacy Law (external) 27/10/2004
The Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner, Karen Curtis announced on 27 October 2004 that she was asking for comments on the Privacy Act provisions which apply to the private sector. Comments are due by 22 December 2004.

EU Study Finds Safe Harbour Problems 21/10/2004
The European Commission has released a Staff Working Document and a study by the Centre de Recherche Informatique et Droit of the University of Namur, Belgium on the controversial EU-US Safe Harbour Agreement. The study found numerous deficiencies in the implementation of Safe Harbour.

Uruguay Adopts New Data Protection Act 28/09/2004
LEY N° 17.838 on the protection of personal information used for commercial purposes and the right of Habeas Data was adopted on 28 September 2004.

Taiwan Cabinet Approves Changes to Data Protection Act 14/09/2004
The Cabinet on 8 September approved changes to the Computer-Processed Personal Data Protection Law. The law would apply to all records, not just to computerized information, penalties for unauthorized release of information would be increased to five years imprisonment or a maximum fine of NT$1 million and medical records, genetic information, sex life, health check-ups and criminal records would be banned from being collected, processed or used unless under certain circumstances. Taipei Times 9 September 2004.

Tunisia Adopts Data Protection Act 28/07/2004
Président Ben Ali promulugated the Data Protection Act ("loi organique relative à la protection des données personnelles") on 28 July 2004 following its adoption by the Chamber of Deputies on 20 July. The law is based on the EU Data Protection Directive. It creates a Data Protection Commission selected by the President to enforce it. Unlike the EU Directive, there is no exemption for journalistic uses. Tunisia is the first arab or african country to adopt such an act. (La Presse 28 July 2004)

Privacy Commissioners call for immediate changes to travel data transfers 15/07/2004
The Article 29 Working Party that oversees the implementation of the EU privacy directive has released its opinion on the current state of affairs regarding the transfer of passenger data from EU airlines to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The Working Party is calling for some immediate 'essential' changes to the current practices to minimize the encroachments on passengers' rights. The report is available on the Commission website.

Canadian Privacy Commissioner Resigns 24/06/2003
Canadian Privacy Commissioner George Radwinski resigned on 24 June following weeks of public and Parliamentiary criticism over excessive travel and food expenses and misleading Parliament. 75 percent of his staff has also signed a petition asking him to step down. He had spent $300,000 in two years. Report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. He has been temporarily replaced by Robert Marleau, a former House of Commons clerk.

Legal and Policy Developments

Indian High Court overrules homosexuality ban on privacy grounds 02/07/2009
The High Court in Delhi has ruled in favour of a challenge of the constitutional validity of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), which criminally penalizes what is described as "unnatural offences", to the extent the said provision criminalises consensual sexual acts between adults in private.