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Consistency In Data-Protection Laws Urged
by Winter Casey
European Union authorities need to provide greater consistency in how they interpret data-protection laws and regulations, Irish Deputy Data Protection Commissioner Gary Davis said Tuesday.
Davis said data-protection authorities across the European Union have a finite set of resources for an issue that is becoming increasingly complex. He said his group has had to deal with a much wider spectrum of complaints without an increase in staff or resources, which is an emerging issue for many EU authorities.
Davis made his remarks on day two of a conference organized by the U.S. Commerce Department, the European Commission and a data-protection working party. The conference, which was part of a bilateral commitment between the United States and the European Union relating to transfers of personal data, was held at the FTC.
Davis said in a panel discussion that his country has been working on codes of conduct dealing with data protection in different sectors to foster understanding about what is expected in each area. He said Ireland uses education to address data-protection issues and requires major holders of personal data to register in a database.
Under Irish laws, the country can refuse to let entities register to hold data. Davis, however, indicated that he believes data-protection authorities should have stronger powers. He said the U.S. FTC has the ability to levy large fines for big data breaches, power that his office lacks.
During the discussion, Artemi Rallo, director of the Spanish Data Protection Authority, discussed how data sourced to Colombia was used. And Isabel Davara, a partner with the Spanish law firm of Davara Abogados, said international privacy rules would be positive.
ITU Helps Uganda With Flood Disaster
The International Telecommunication Union said Tuesday that it has deployed 25 satellite terminals to help restore vital communications links in Uganda to coordinate relief operations in areas that have been hit by natural disasters.
Uganda is recovering from severe floods that affected the eastern and northern regions of the central African country. The water has taken lives, marooned more than 140 000 people, destroyed road and communication links, and submerged crops, according to the ITU. The Ugandan government has declared a state of emergency, and the Uganda Communications Commission requested ITU technology support.
"It is clear that we are making a difference on the ground," Cosmas Zavazava, head of the ITU's division for emergency telecommunications, said in a statement. "For the past three months, we have had to deploy telecommunications resources for disaster mitigation in three different regions. In August, we deployed in Peru following an earthquake; in September we deployed in Bangladesh where floods had wreaked havoc; and now we have had to intervene in Uganda. Telecommunications can save lives when natural disasters strike."
The ITU has provided handheld satellite phones and global area network terminals.
In other African news, the Highway Africa News Agency reported Tuesday that the National Electoral Commission of Togo has banned the use of mobile telephones in polling stations during the country's upcoming parliamentary elections.
Canada Forges Tech Bonds In Virginia Visit
A delegation of Canadian modeling and simulation firms is visiting Virginia this week to meet with representatives from Virginia's industry, according to the office of state Gov. Tim Kaine.
Kaine's office said the meetings are aimed at establishing business and research ties that will benefit the economies of Canada and Virginia through increased trade and investment. "This is a significant first for the Canadian Embassy to take its companies beyond the Beltway to have more direct contact with Virginia's business community," Kaine said in a statement.
"This tour of Virginia's modeling and simulation assets capitalizes on the collaborative nature of the industry, bringing together the talents of Virginian and Canadian innovators to establish what we believe will be a mutually beneficial partnership," the Democratic governor said.
Virginia is one of 36 U.S. states where Canada was the No. 1 export market in 2006, according to Kaine's office. The office noted that the multimedia sector represents a large component of Canada's information and communications technology sector.
U.S. Edges Up In Press Freedoms Index
The United States has improved slightly in its protection of press freedoms, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the watchdog group Reporters Without Borders.
"There were slightly fewer press freedom violations in the United States, and blogger Josh Wolf was freed after 224 days in prison," the group said in a statement. "But the detention of Al-Jazeera's Sudanese cameraman, Sami Al-Haj, since [June 13, 2002] at the military base of Guantanamo and the murder of [journalist] Chauncey Bailey in Oakland in August mean the United States is still unable to join the lead group."
Eritrea replaced North Korea in last place, while Iceland remained in first place on the group's 2007 index measuring the level of press freedom in 169 countries.
"There is nothing surprising about this," said Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based group that fights for press freedoms around the world. "Even if we are not aware of all the press freedom violations in North Korea and Turkmenistan, which are second and third from last, Eritrea deserves to be at the bottom. We know that four journalists have died in detention, and we have every reason to fear that others will suffer the same fate."
The report paid special attention to problems online. "The Internet is occupying more and more space in the breakdown of press freedom violations," it noted. "Several countries fell in the ranking this year because of serious, repeated violations of the free flow of online news and information."
For example, bloggers in Egypt, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam were arrested, and news Web sites in those countries were closed or made inaccessible. The report notes that at least 64 people are currently in prison around the world for information they have posted on the Internet. China "maintains its leadership in this form of repression" by imprisoning 50 "cyber dissidents."
"More and more governments have realized that the Internet can play a key role in the fight for democracy, and they are establishing new methods of censoring it," the report noted.
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