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Potential Kenya-US trade deal could be favorable to Big Tech
Kenya created a requirement for startups that process personal data to register with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, PYMNTS.com reports. While Kenya’s Data Protection Act is the EU General Data Protection Regulation’s closest parallel on the African continent, a potential bilateral trade deal with the U.S. could save American companies compliance headaches after the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield was overturned in 2020. However, provisions of the anticipated Kenya-U.S.
Turkey's KVKK creates draft guidelines for handling genetic data
Turkey’s data protection authority, the Kişisel Verileri Koruma Kurumu, published draft guidelines for the processing of genetic data. The KVKK considers genetic data under the umbrella of “sensitive personal data” under the Law on the Protection of Personal Data.
OCR issues $300,640 fine over HIPAA Privacy Rule violations
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights fined New England Dermatology and Laser Center $300,640 for violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule. The health center was found to have improperly deleted protected health information when it threw out specimen containers with labels carrying patient names, birthdates, dates of sample collection and name of the provider who took the specimen.
Op-ed: The lack of comprehensive privacy protection threatens US democracy
The U.S. is facing “creeping authoritarianism,” Thor Benson writes for Wired. Experts advocated for policymaking that fundamentally ingrains privacy in law so those mechanisms could not be abused by a future autocratic leader. He said some experts claim the American Data Privacy and Protection Act does not establish strong enough privacy protections for individuals.
EU advocacy group alleges Google sent unsolicited advertising emails to users
Austrian consumer advocacy group NOYB filed a complaint to France’s data protection authority, the Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés, over Google allegedly violating an EU court order, Reuters reports. The complaint alleged Google sent unsolicited advertising emails directly to its European Gmail users. If the CNIL were to rule against Google, the decision would only apply to French Gmail users; however, such a ruling could force Google to reevaluate its practices across the EU.
Whistleblower revelations put Twitter under US lawmaker scrutiny
The Wall Street Journal reports the whistleblower allegations against Twitter's lax cybersecurity practices have begun drawing scrutiny from members of U.S. Congress. U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said the claims "may show dangerous data privacy and security risks" and the committee may "take further steps as needed to get to the bottom of these alarming allegations." Sens.
EU policymakers consider cross-border transfers vs. data localization
Two years removed from the Court of Justice of the European Union’s invalidation of Privacy Shield, a legal framework for lawful EU-U.S. data transfers is still in the works. While negotiations move forward, discussions are happening among EU policymakers about a potential shift toward data localization to help preserve digital sovereignty. Journalist Luca Bertuzzi reports on the reasons behind the data localization push.Full Story
Council of the European Union offers latest Data Act compromise text
The Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union released its latest compromise text for the proposed Data Act, Euractiv reports. The latest text offers changes to conditions for allowing public entities to demand access to privately held data. The proposal frees most EU institutions from requirements under the law and adds provisions to allow public sector bodies to use data from a private company in exceptional cases.
FTC calls for further feedback on targeted ads against kids
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission asked for additional public comments on how digital advertising affects minors. The second call comes after the commission sought initial comments following its announcement of a virtual event Oct.