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European Parliament Nixes 'Safe Harbor' Plans;
Lawmaker Seeks To Ban Personal Data Sell-off
The European Parliament effectively rejected a privacy agreement negotiated between the United States and European Union aimed at averting disruptions in the flow of personal information online from Europe to the United States. The parliament voted, 279-259, in favor of a report, drafted by its Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs Committee, critical of the "safe harbor" privacy deal negotiated over the last two years by the EU's European Commission and U.S Commerce Department. U.S. companies that agree to abide by the privacy principles included in the safe harbor agreement would be deemed in compliance with the EU's tough data privacy directive. The directive bans the flow of personal data about EU citizens to third countries without "adequate" privacy protections.
Privacy Lawmaker Seeks To Halt Net Firms' Personal Data Sell-off
Reacting to reports that three recently failed Internet companies have put their customers' personal information up for sale, Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-AL, announced that he would introduce legislation that would make it illegal to sell such data to third parties during a bankruptcy. In making his case for legislation, Bachus referred to Toysmart.com, a bankrupt online toy store whose privacy policy states that "personal information voluntarily submitted by visitors to our site, such as name, address, billing information and shopping preferences, is never shared with a third party."
Labor Congress Grants More Time To Implement IT Disability Standards
Federal agencies and technology companies will get more time to prepare for new regulations implementing a 1998 law requiring that information technology bought, used, developed or maintained by the federal government is accessible to the disabled. House and Senate lawmakers agreed to include language in the conference report for the fiscal 2001 military construction spending bill, H.R. 4425, that would delay for six months following the publication of the final standards implementing the law the date when third parties can begin challenging federal agencies' implementation of the rules. The House passed the conference report Thursday and the Senate cleared it Friday for action by the president, who is expected to sign it into law.
Civil Liberties Civil Liberties Groups Vow To Keep ICANN Watch
A coalition of civil liberties organizations announced the formation of a new watchdog group aimed at ensuring that ICANN policies respect the rights of individuals and encouraging greater participation in Internet governance issues by other non-government organizations. The Internet Democracy Project is being launched by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Electronic Privacy Information Center and Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility aimed at monitoring the activities of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and other groups whose decisions affect the Internet.
Privacy Gramm To Hold Vote On Medical Privacy Next Week
The Senate Banking Committee has formally scheduled vote next week on securities fee reduction legislation, to which a medical financial privacy amendment is pending. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Phil Gramm, R-TX, had unofficially scheduled and subsequently postponed that markup numerous times in recent weeks, as he sought to shore up support for his alternative to the pending comprehensive medical privacy amendment offered by Sen. Richard Shelby, R-AL. Gramm reportedly was having trouble firming up support for his own narrower alternative, and as Democrats are expected to be unified behind Shelby, both legislators were vying for the support of at least one other Republican committee member.
Crime New Stock Scams Flourishing Online
Although many Internet stock market scams are just updated versions of old techniques, recently the Web has spawned a new type of stock fraud that require constant monitoring, a top Securities and Exchange Commission official said this week. The agency is sticking to its plans to develop technology that would monitor Web sites and bulletin boards, said John Stark, chief of the SEC's Office of Internet Enforcement, at a Catholic University law school forum about the promise and the threat the Internet poses to the securities market. Stark said the agency has been careful to specify that surveillance would be restricted to "public places like message boards and Web sites to identify potential securities violations."
- by Sharon McLoone
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