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

PI releases analyses of privacy issues in Asian developing countries 11/11/2009
Following an eighteen month project, PI releases a report analysing the privacy landscape and pressing policy issues in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand.

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.

PI hosts workshop in Bangkok on Privacy in Asia 28/05/2009
Privacy International ran a three-day workshop in Bangkok from May 22 to May 24 with partners from Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand to work on how to advance privacy protections in their countries and in the region.

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

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

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.

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.

EU-US passenger data transfer deal annulled by European Court 30/05/2006
In a long awaited decision from the European Court of Justice the deal between the EU and the US to transfer passenger reservation data from EU carriers to the US Department of Homeland Security is to be annulled as of September 30, 2006.

Canadian Supreme Court upholds DNA databank 28/04/2006
The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the legality of the DNA database including the retroactive collection of profiles.