EU update

This is the latest edition of the DLA Piper column on developments in EU law relating to IP, IT and telecommunications. This news article summarises recent developments that are considered important for practitioners, students and academics in a wide range of information technology, e-commerce, telecommunications and intellectual property areas. It cannot be exhaustive but intends to address the important points. This is a hard copy reference guide, but links to outside web sites are included where possible. No responsibility is assumed for the accuracy of information contained in these links.     

论银行卡信息披露的法律规制

对银行卡信息披露进行法律规制,不仅是保护持卡人合法权益的需要,也是银行卡产业健康发展的需要。美国、澳大利亚等国的法律为我们提供了很好的经验。我国应当借鉴国外的经验,对银行卡信息披露作出强制规定,不仅要明确规定银行卡信息披露的时间、内容和方式,而且更要明确界定违反信息披露义务应承担的法律责任。     

Restrictions on cryptography in India – A case studyof encryption and privacy

The developments of technology in communications industry have radically altered the ways in which we communicate and exchange information. Along with the speed, efficiency, and cost-saving benefits of the digital revolution come new challenges to the security and privacy of communications and information traversing the global communications infrastructure. As is with any technology the misuse of technology is noticed similarly the encryption technology. Encryption and other advanced technologies may be used, with direct impact on law enforcement and therefore some restrictions are necessary in the interests of national security. The problem, however, is ensuring that the restriction is legitimate and solely for in the interests of national security, the state not being allowed to interfere and keep a track on individuals' activities and private lives without sufficient cause. The individual needs encryption to protect their personal privacy and confidential data such as medical information, personal financial data, and electronic mail. In a networked environment, such information is increasingly at risk of being stolen or misused. Therefore, encryption is critical to building a secure and trusted global information infrastructure. Digital computers have changed the landscape considerably and the entire issue, at its simplest level, boils down to a form of balancing of interests. The specific legal and rights-related problems arising from the issue of cryptography and privacy in the Indian context are examined in this paper.     

Privacy,trust and policy-making: Challenges and responses

The authors contend that the emerging ubiquitous Information Society (aka ambient intelligence, pervasive computing, ubiquitous networking and so on) will raise many privacy and trust issues that are context dependent. These issues will pose many challenges for policy-makers and stakeholders because people's notions of privacy and trust are different and shifting. People's attitudes towards privacy and protecting their personal data can vary significantly according to differing circumstances. In addition, notions of privacy and trust are changing over time. The authors provide numerous examples of the challenges facing policy-makers and identify some possible responses, but they see a need for improvements in the policy-making process in order to deal more effectively with varying contexts. They also identify some useful policy-making tools. They conclude that the broad brush policies of the past are not likely to be adequate to deal with the new challenges and that we are probably entering an era that will require development of “micro-policies”. While the new technologies will pose many challenges, perhaps the biggest challenge of all will be to ensure coherence of these micro-policies.     

The principle of proportionality in biometrics:Case studies from Norway

The principle of proportionality is a decisive factor in the legal review of biometric systems by the Data Protection Authorities (DPA) in EU member states. However, in the working document on biometrics the Data Protection Working Party gives little guidance on how the purpose and proportionality principle must be applied to biometrics. There remain uncertainties as to the specific criteria and factors that are used for evaluating the proportionality of processing biometric information. This sometimes leads to contradictory decisions by different national DPAs on similar biometric related issues. This paper aims to discuss the legal factors and parameters that are generally adopted to address the proportionality issue in the biometric context. After a brief analysis of the legal notion of the principle of proportionality, the paper analyses and discusses the European organisations’ interpretation of the recent Norwegian cases on biometrics. The paper then concludes with a summary of the interpretation of the proportionality principle within the biometric context and gives specific recommendations of several important factors that need to be taken into account.     

An economic rationale for firing whistleblowers

Organization members disclosing their superiors’ violations of duty are characterized by high ethical standards and, surprisingly often, fired for blowing the whistle. This paper provides an economic rationale for firing whistleblowers in a model where only the “ethical” type of agent can internally report the manager’s violation of duty. Revelation of an ethical type in the organization increases the perceived future probability of detecting and punishing the manager. Replacing the ethical type by an agent of unknown type restores this probability to its initial level, and this is optimal in organizations in which the standard of proof in establishing the manager’s violation of duty is low.

党员志愿服务及其创新机制分析

当前,党员志愿服务蓬勃发展,在体现为人民服务宗旨、帮助困难人群与家庭、弘扬文明与道德风尚、改善党员与群众关系、塑造服务型党组织等方面发挥积极的作用。但是,党员志愿服务要避免"作秀、加负、变味、垄断"四个偏差,尽量做实做好,真正满足人民群众的需求。党员志愿服务的创新发展,可采取"四个联动"策略,即党员志愿者与社会组织联动、党员志愿者与社区农村联动、党员志愿者与专业机构联动、党员志愿者与信息网络联动,通过党员志愿者的示范带动,建立邻里守望的社会环境,倡导行善立德的社会风尚。     

National Transparency Regimes: Rules or Principles? A Comparative Analysis of the United States and The Netherlands

Technology development and democratization have been identified as the general drivers of the worldwide thrust in transparency. But what transparency regimes do these drivers generate in different countries? This mixed method study indicates that national regimes are different due to pre-existing institutional differences and critical junctures in the historical development of transparency regimes. Our analysis shows that the U.S. transparency regime can be characterized as a rules-based approach while a principles-based transparency regime prevails in the Netherlands. This article nuances the debate about the global character of transparency and highlights two different outcomes of the push for transparency.     

略论孟子民本思想的当代价值

以孟子为代表的民本思想是中国传统政治文化中最具进步性的永恒的思想主题,它是以人民为国家政治本体的一种思想体系,是近现代民主的原初观念形态。民贵君轻、民心向背决定政治成败是孟子民本思想的基本理念。孟子为提倡民权提供了一条很好的思路,并提出了以保民、养民、富民、教民为基本内涵的民生主张。从这些政治理念中必将得出具有政治实践意义的结论：为政一切从人民利益出发,一切政治措施必须以人民的利益为归宿,否则就是离民背本。     

信息网络传播权的法律规制与制度完善

信息网络传播权是伴随着现代信息技术出现的新的传播权类型,国际社会在运用法律手段设置、调整和完善该类权利及其运行方面进行了有效探索,产生了一系列可供借鉴的文本。我国《信息网络传播权保护条例》的出台实现了该权利在我国的体系化规制,但它并不能解决网络时代著作权保护的所有问题,信息网络传播权法律规则应该在《著作权法》的第二次修改中得到统筹考虑,并以此促进《条例》的修改和完善。