European national news

The regular article tracking developments at the national level in key European countries in the area of IT and communications – co-ordinated by Herbert Smith LLP and contributed to by firms across Europe. This column provides a concise alerting service of important national developments in key European countries. Part of its purpose is to compliment the Journal’s feature articles and briefing notes by keeping readers abreast of what is currently happening “on the ground” at a national level in implementing EU level legislation and international conventions and treaties. Where an item of European National News is of particular significance, CLSR may also cover it in more detail in the current or a subsequent edition.     

European national news

The regular article tracking developments at the national level in key European countries in the area of IT and communications - co-ordinated by Herbert Smith LLP and contributed to by firms across Europe. This column provides a concise alerting service of important national developments in key European countries. Part of its purpose is to compliment the Journal’s feature articles and briefing notes by keeping readers abreast of what is currently happening "on the ground" at a national level in implementing EU level legislation and international conventions and treaties. Where an item of European National News is of particular significance, CLSR may also cover it in more detail in the current or a subsequent edition.     

Promoting Data Protection Standards through Contracts: The Case of the Data Security Council of India

Data protection has emerged as a major corporate and government concern worldwide. The focus is on secure handling of data so as to ensure privacy of customer data and security of corporate data. Privacy and security laws in countries are not harmonized; compliance regulations are different too. As the global hub of outsourcing, India is faced with a challenge of demonstrating compliance with varying compliance regulations in countries. The Data Security Council of India (DSCI) considers the Best Practices Approach as a practical and realistic way to enhance adherence to data security and privacy standards, and to enable a service provider to demonstrate compliance. Getting these standards recognized through contracts can promote data protection. An industry association can act as a third party self‐regulatory organization to promote these standards and enforce them among its members through certification or privacy seals, thereby helping implement data protection in international data flows.     

地方政府官员晋升与土地财政——基于中国地市级面板数据的实证分析

土地财政是当前政府管理中的热点问题,然而学界对于土地财政的动因和引发根源尚未有一致结论。基于晋升锦标赛理论,采用2003—2008年中国257个地级市政府的非平衡面板数据,从地方政府官员晋升竞争角度出发,分析了官员晋升竞争对土地财政的影响。发现,地方政府官员晋升竞争是引发土地财政的根本原因,且这一发现具有较好稳健性,官员任期与土地财政之间存在显著的倒U型关系,官员晋升竞争对土地财政的影响是因条件而异的,行政首长面对晋升竞争时更倾向于土地财政;相较东中部地区,西部地区官员在面对晋升竞争时更倾向于土地财政。由此得出,缓解土地财政问题的关键在于变革官员晋升模式,创新干部考核评价体系,以及延长和稳定官员任期是未来可能的改革路径。本文的发现对进一步理解我国官员治理模式,以及有效缓解土地财政问题具有重要的现实意义。     

Protecting the privacy and security of sensitive customer data in the cloud

The global ubiquity of cloud computing may expose consumers' sensitive personal data to significant privacy and security threats. A critical challenge for the cloud computing industry is to earn consumers' trust by ensuring adequate privacy and security for sensitive consumer data. Regulating consumer privacy and security also challenges government enforcement of data protection laws that were designed with national borders in mind. From an information privacy perspective, this article analyses how well the regulatory frameworks in place in Europe and the United States help protect the privacy and security of sensitive consumer data in the cloud. It makes suggestions for regulatory reform to protect sensitive information in cloud computing environments and to remove regulatory constraints that limit the growth of this vibrant new industry.     

Legal grounds to process personal data under Spanish legislation after the ECJ Judgment of 24 November 2011 (the ASNEF and FECEMD case)

Spanish law on personal data protection regulates (among other issues) the legal bases that permit the processing of data in a way that is similar to that set out in Directive 95/46/EC. Consent constitutes the general rule although data may be processed without it if necessary for administration functions, within the framework of a contractual relationship, in order to safeguard the vital interests of the data subject or if they are included in sources accessible to the public. However, unlike the Directive, legitimate interest is not recognised as an independent reason for processing data, whereas a legal ground that is not set out in community law is included, i.e., sources accessible to the public. This paper analyses these two cases, taking as its starting point consent, along with the consequences that the ECJ Judgment of 24 November 2011 regarding the interpretation of Article 7 of Directive 95/46/EC may have and giving attention to the revision of this Directive itself.     

European national news

The regular article tracking developments at the national level in key European countries in the area of IT and communications – co-ordinated by Herbert Smith LLP and contributed to by firms across Europe. This column provides a concise alerting service of important national developments in key European countries. Part of its purpose is to compliment the Journal’s feature articles and briefing notes by keeping readers abreast of what is currently happening “on the ground” at a national level in implementing EU level legislation and international conventions and treaties. Where an item of European National News is of particular significance, CLSR may also cover it in more detail in the current or a subsequent edition.     

Data protection in Malaysia and Hong Kong: One step forward,two steps back?

Continuing rapid developments in information communication technology has led to an ever increasing amount of personal information being collected, processed, stored and used, without the individual even knowing about it. For countries which have domestic legislation relating to privacy and data protection, it has afforded the opportunity for a review. For others, it has opened up the opportunity to legislate. The aim of the paper is three-fold. First, the paper aims to deal with data protection regime in Malaysia and in Hong Kong by examining the salient features of the newly enacted Malaysia's Personal Data Protection Act 2010 and the recent recommendations for legislative reform to the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance in Hong Kong. Second, it considers whether the laws are more concerned with legitimising data protection practices of organizations and businesses rather than the protection of individuals' privacy interests. Finally, the paper briefly considers whether the laws adequately address the impact to individuals' data privacy brought about by technological advancements before providing a conclusion.     

Personal data protection in employment: New legal challenges for Malaysia

The purpose of this article is to discuss and apply data protection principles in the context of employment. The Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), passed by the Malaysian Parliament in 2010, has affected many aspects of life in Malaysia, including employment. Storage of data by employers is rampant. Management, as the data user, is duty bound to safeguard the employees' data according to the PDPA. Likewise, the employees, as data subjects, enjoy some rights under the PDPA. The author also examines issues of privacy law: whether such law exists in Malaysia and, if so, whether it can be reconciled with the PDPA's principles. The author adopts legal methodology anchored in exploratory analysis, with the legislative text as the main reference point.     

Beneficiaries of federal housing programs: A data reconnaissance

Abstract

This article reports on a reconnaissance of information systems containing data on the beneficiaries of direct and indirect federal housing expenditures. It covers data in the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, and the Treasury; the Resolution Trust Corporation; financial regulatory agencies; and secondary mortgage market actors.

Data varied widely across agencies in availability, accessibility, and quality. Data are more systematically collected for low‐income beneficiaries of housing programs than for the more affluent beneficiaries of indirect housing expenditures. The systems need improvements in data quality and coverage and database format, though they have improved recently. Many research topics can be explored with new and underused data systems: the characteristics of beneficiaries of rural housing programs, urban rental housing programs, low‐income homeownership programs, and mortgage guarantee and insurance programs. But the lack of information on the systems themselves makes data difficult to locate and access.