Written by Luke Dixon

The European Parliament has voted emphatically in support of a report produced by its Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) on the mass surveillance undertaken by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and EU Member States.Big Data In doing so, the Parliament has called for the immediate suspension of the EU-U.S. Safe Harbor scheme, pending a review of how the scheme is conducted.

The scheme allows businesses to self-certify compliance with EU data protection law, thereby legitimizing exports of personal data from the EU to locations in the U.S., where such exports would otherwise be illegal under EU data privacy legislation. The Federal Trade Commission administers and enforces the scheme.
Continue Reading European Parliament vote on LIBE report – where next for EU/US Safe Harbor?

Written By Luke Dixon, CIPP/E

The UK Information Commissioner (ICO) and Ofcom have published an update on their Joint Action Plan for tackling nuisance calls and messages.

They have identified a number of priority areas for 2014, including: (i) ongoing, targeted enforcement action; (ii) improving the tracing and technical assessment of nuisance calls; (iii) working better with Government to ensure effective coordinated action; and (iv) improving consumer information on how to reduce and report complaints about nuisance calls and messages.

A wide range of sectors generate nuisance calls. Calls regarding Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) claims caused the largest number of complaints (22%), followed by debt management and energy/green energy issues. The updated Joint Action Plan indicates that complaints to the ICO and Ofcom reached a peak in 2013. The number of complaints received in 2014 so far has dropped slightly, but is still quite high.
Continue Reading UK ICO and Ofcom Publish Updated Joint Action Plan to tackle nuisance calls and messages in 2014