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French Data Protection Authority Launches Public Consultation on Cloud Computing : : Privacy and Information Security Law Blog

October 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

On October 17, 2011, the French Data Protection Authority (the “CNIL”) launched a public consultation on cloud computing (the “Consultation”). The Consultation seeks to gather opinions from stakeholders (clients, providers, consultants) regarding cloud computing services for businesses, to identify legal and technical solutions that address data protection concerns while taking into account the economic interests involved.

  • The Consultation addresses several specific topics about personal data protection in the cloud computing context, including:
  • The definition of cloud computing
  • Cloud computing providers as data processors
  • Applicable law (i.e., what law applies to cloud computing stakeholders?)
  • Regulation of data transfers (e.g., what legal instruments are best suited to regulate cloud computing? Would binding corporate rules for data processors be an appropriate legal mechanism for transferring personal data to cloud computing service providers?)
  • Data security (e.g., cloud-specific risks and proposed security measures)

via French Data Protection Authority Launches Public Consultation on Cloud Computing : : Privacy and Information Security Law Blog.

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Czech Privacy Data Watchdog Probes Google Street View Acts – WSJ.com

May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment
HANNOVER, GERMANY - MARCH 02: The camera of a...
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The Czech Office for Personal Data Protection, or UOOU, has launched a probe of an alleged breach of privacy protection regulations in the Czech Republic by Google Inc (GOOG), an UOOU spokeswoman said Thursday.

“We initiated the administrative action Apr. 21 by sending Google a formal notice and the procedure began three days ago when Google received the letter in the U.S.,” Hana Stepankova told Dow Jones Newswires.

UOOU is investigating Google for failing to notify Czech authorities with its intentions to collect personal data used for the U.S. company’s ‘Street View‘ photo imaging service for the Google Maps program.

Google officials didn't immediately return phone calls by Dow Jones Newswires requesting comments on the UOOU probe.

via Czech Privacy Data Watchdog Probes Google Street View Acts – WSJ.com.

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Consumer Tracking Outstrips Protections – NYTimes.com

May 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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It’s called behavioral tracking:

• Cameras that can follow you from the minute you enter a store to the moment you hit the checkout counter, recording every T-shirt you touch, every mannequin you ogle, every time you blow your nose or stop to tie your shoelaces.

• Web coupons embedded with bar codes that can identify, and alert retailers to, the search terms you used to find them and, in some cases, even your Facebook information and your name.

• Mobile marketers that can find you near a store clothing rack, and send ads to your cellphone based on your past preferences and behavior.

To be sure, such retail innovations help companies identify their most profitable client segments, better predict the deals shoppers will pursue, fine-tune customer service down to a person and foster brand loyalty. (My colleagues Stephanie Rosenbloom and Stephanie Clifford have written in detail about the tracking prowess of store cameras and Web coupons.)

But these and other surveillance techniques are also reminders that advances in data collection are far outpacing personal data protection.

Enter the post-privacy society, where we have lost track of how many entities are tracking us. Not to mention what they are doing with our personal information, how they are storing it, whom they might be selling our dossiers to and, yes, how much money they are making from them.

On the way out, consumer advocates say, is that quaint old notion of informed consent, in which a company clearly notifies you of its policies and gives you the choice of whether to opt in (rather than having you opt out once you discover your behavior is being tracked).

“How does notice and choice work when you don’t even interface with the company that has your data?” says Jessica Rich, a deputy director of the bureau of consumer protection at the Federal Trade Commission.

via Slipstream – Consumer Tracking Outstrips Protections – NYTimes.com.

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Will Data Protection Laws Ever Catch Up To New Technology? : Connecticut Business Litigation Blog

May 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

That was the question posed in an email newsletter I received today from the International Association of Privacy Professionals.   I am a member of this group out of personal interest and to to stay on top of issues related to privacy laws and technology.   One of the benefits of belonging to this group is that I get email newsletters with summaries of new laws, regulations, and lawsuits dealing with privacy issues from all over the world.

Today’s email posed the question in the title of this post and featured an article from the New York Times by Natasha Singer called ”Shoppers Have No Secrets.”   The article details the technology of “behavioral tracking” by retail and advertising businesses and how the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is playing catch up when it comes to regulating this technology.

Online behavioral tracking has been a hot button issue for both businesses and privacy rights groups for a few years.  Natasha’s article lists several types of new tracking to include:

Cameras that can follow you from the minute you enter a store to the moment you hit the checkout counter, recording every T-shirt you touch, every mannequin you ogle, every time you blow your nose or stop to tie your shoelaces.

Web coupons embedded with bar codes that can identify, and alert retailers to, the search terms you used to find them.

Mobile marketers that can find you near a store clothing rack, and send ads to your cellphone based on your past preferences and behavior.

The article is a very good summary of the issue and has links to advocacy groups on both sides of the debate.  The article also highlights the differences between European and US based privacy laws. In general, the EU is far more advanced and stringent when it comes to personal data protection.

In the US, the FTC publishes guidelines and takes enforcement action under its authority to regulate unfair trade.  There are also the states’ Attorney Generals and class action and individual lawsuits.  Nevertheless, to answer the question I posed in this post, it is clearly a “NO” in the US.   Data protection laws will not catch up to new technology. At least, not anytime soon.

via Will Data Protection Laws Ever Catch Up To New Technology? : Connecticut Business Litigation Blog.

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