Privacy law is the area of law concerned with the protection and preservation of the privacy Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively. The boundaries and content of what is considered private differ among cultures and individuals, but share basic common themes. Privacy is sometimes related to anonymity, the wish to remain unnoticed or rights of individuals. Increasingly, governments and other public as well as private organizations collect vast amounts of personal information about individuals for a variety of purposes. The law of privacy regulates the type of information which may be collected and how this information may be used and stored.
The scope of applicability of privacy laws is called expectation of privacy In United States constitutional law the expectation of privacy is a legal test which is crucial in defining the scope of the applicability of the privacy protections of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The "expectation of privacy," as a legal concept with a precise definition, is found only in U.S. case law. It is.
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Classification of privacy laws
Privacy laws can be broadly classified into:
General privacy laws have an overall bearing on the personal information of individuals and affect the policies that govern many different areas of information.
Specific privacy laws
These laws are designed to regulate specific types of information. Some examples include:
- Health privacy laws
- Financial privacy laws
- Online privacy laws
- Communication privacy laws
- Information privacy laws Information privacy laws cover the protection of information on private individuals from intentional or unintentional disclosure or misuse. The European Directive on Protection of Personal Data, released on July 25, 1995 was an attempt to unify the laws on data protection within the European Community. As a result, customers of international
- Privacy in one's home
Privacy laws by country
Australia
In Australia For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of the roughly 250 language groups. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the immediate north and discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by the British, the federal Privacy Act 1988 The Privacy Act 1988 is an Australian law dealing with the privacy of personal information. Part III Division I sets out what are interferences with privacy sets out principles in relation to the collection, use, disclosure, security and access to personal information. The Act applies to the Australian For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of the roughly 250 language groups. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the immediate north and discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by the British Government and Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and its smallest self-governing internal territory. It is enclaved within New South Wales, and regularly referred to as Australia's 'Bush Capital' agencies and private sector organisations (except some small businesses). The Office of the Privacy Commissioner The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is an Australian Government agency created by the Privacy Act 1988. It is an independent regulator responsible for investigating complaints about breaches of the Information Privacy Principles or the National Privacy Principles (relating to private sector organisations including not for profit organisations) is the complaints handler for alleged breaches of the Act. Some Australian States The Commonwealth of Australia is made up of six states and two major mainland territories. There are also lesser territories that are under the administration of the federal government have enacted privacy laws.
The Australian Law Reform Commission [1] completed an inquiry into the state of Australia's privacy laws in 2008. The Report entitled For Your Information: Australian Privacy Law and Practice [2] recommended significant changes be made to the Privacy Act, as well as the introduction of a statutory cause of action for breach of privacy [3]. The Australian Government committed in October 2009 to implementing a large number of the recommendations that the Australian Law Reform Commission had made in its report [4].
Canada
Main article: Canadian privacy law Canadian privacy law has evolved over time into what it is today. The first instance of a formal law came when, in response to international pressure, the Canadian government introduced data protection provisions into the Canadian Human Rights Act. Subsequently, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms outlined that everyone has "the rightIn Canada The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three, the federal 'Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act is a Canadian law relating to data privacy. It governs how private-sector organizations collect, use and disclose personal information in the course of commercial business. In addition, the Act contains various provisions to facilitate the use of electronic documents. PIPEDA was (PIPEDA) governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in connection with commercial activities and personal information about employees of federal works, undertakings and businesses. It generally does not apply to non-commercial organizations or provincial governments. Personal information collected, used and disclosed by the federal government and many crown corporations is governed by the Privacy Act The Privacy Act is Canadian federal legislation that came into effect on July 1, 1983. The act sets out rules for how institutions of the federal government must deal with personal information of individuals. Some salient provisions of the legislation are as follows:. Many provinces have enacted similar provincial legislation such as the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act which applies to public bodies in that province.
There remains some debate whether there exists a common law tort for breach of privacy. There have been a number of cases identifying a common law right to privacy but the requirements have not been articulated.[1]
In Eastmond v. Canadian Pacific Railway & Privacy Commissioner of Canada[2] Canada's Supreme Court found that CP could collect Eastmond's personal information without his knowledge or consent because it benefited from the exemption in paragraph 7(1)(b) of PIPEDA The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act is a Canadian law relating to data privacy. It governs how private-sector organizations collect, use and disclose personal information in the course of commercial business. In addition, the Act contains various provisions to facilitate the use of electronic documents. PIPEDA was, which provides that personal information can be collected without consent if "it is reasonable to expect that the collection with the knowledge or consent of the individual would compromise the availability or the accuracy of the information and the collection is reasonable for purposes related to investigating a breach of an agreement".[2]
United Kingdom
Main article: Privacy in English lawAs a member of the European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (long title: Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953. All Council of Europe, the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land adheres to Article 8 ECHR, which guarantees a "right to respect for privacy and family life", subject to restrictions as prescribed by law and necessary in a democratic society towards a legitimate aim.
However, there is no independent tort law doctrine which recognises a right to privacy. This has been confirmed on a number of occasions.
United States
Main article: Privacy laws of the United States United States privacy law embodies several different legal concepts. One is the invasion of privacy, a tort based in common law allowing an aggrieved party to bring a lawsuit against an individual who unlawfully intrudes into his or her private affairs, discloses his or her private information, publicizes him or her in a false light, orThe idea of a right to privacy was first addressed within a legal context in the United States. Louis Brandeis Louis D. Brandeis was a United States Supreme Court Justice from 1916 to 1939. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky to Jewish parents who had immigrated from Europe. He enrolled at Harvard Law School, graduating at the age of twenty with the highest grade average in the college’s history (later a Supreme Court justice) and another young lawyer, Samuel D. Warren Samuel Dennis Warren was a Boston attorney, published an article called 'The Right to Privacy' in the Harvard Law Review The Harvard Law Review is a journal of legal scholarship published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School in 1890 arguing that the constitution and the common law allowed for the deduction of a general "right to privacy".[4] Their project was never entirely successful, and the renowned tort expert Dean Prosser William Lloyd Prosser was the Dean of the College of Law at UC Berkeley from 1948 to 1961. Prosser authored several editions of Prosser on Torts, universally recognized as the leading work on the subject of tort law for a generation and still widely used today (now in its 11th Edition). Furthermore, in the 1950s, Dean Prosser became Reporter for argued that "privacy" was composed of four separate torts, the only unifying element of which was a (vague) "right to be left alone."[5] These elements were
- appropriating the plaintiff's identity for the defendant's benefit
- placing the plaintiff in a false light in the public eye
- publicly disclosing private facts about the plaintiff
- unreasonably intruding upon the seclusion or solitude of the plaintiff
- Health Information Privacy Accountability Act -- Office for Civil Rights U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Financial Services Modernization Act (GLB), 15 U.S. Code §§ 6801-6810
- Final Rule on Privacy of Consumer Financial Information, 16 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 313
- Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S. Code §§ 1681-1681u
- Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692-1692
- List of Privacy Laws
Russia
Applicable legislation:
- Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, signed and ratified by the Russian Federation on December 19.2005;
- the Law of the Russian Federation “On Personal Data” as of 27.07.2006 No. 152-FZ, regulating the processing of personal data by means of automation equipment. It is the operator who is required to comply with that Act.
As a general rule consent of the individual is required for processing, i.e. obtaining, organizing, accumulating, holding, adjusting (updating, modifying), using, disclosing (including transfer), impersonating, blocking or destroying of his personal data. This rule doesn't apply where such processing is necessary for performance of the contract, to which an individual is a party.
- Data protection principles and legislation in the Russian Federation (in English)
- On-line database of the Russian laws (in Russian)
- Federal Service on supervising in the sphere of communications, information technology and mass media (in Russian)
Republic of China (Taiwan)
Computer Processed Personal Information Protection Act was enacted in 1995 in order to protect personal information processed by computers. The general provision specified the purpose of the law, defined crucial terms, prohibited individuals from waiving certain rights.
See also
Legislation
- Privacy Act of 1974 The Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, Public Law No. 93-579, establishes a code of fair information practice that governs the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information about individuals that is maintained in systems of records by federal agencies. A system of records is a group of records under the (US)
- Electronic Communications Privacy Act The “electronic communication” means any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic or photooptical system that affects interstate or foreign commerce, but does not include any wire or oral communication;(B) any (US)
- Privacy Act 1988 The Privacy Act 1988 is an Australian law dealing with the privacy of personal information. Part III Division I sets out what are interferences with privacy (Aus)
- Data Protection Directive The Data Protection Directive is a European Union directive which regulates the processing of personal data within the European Union. It is an important component of EU privacy and human rights law. The directive was implemented in 1995 by the European Commission (EU)
- Data Protection Act 1998 The Data Protection Act 1998 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which defines UK law on the processing of data on identifiable living people. It is the main piece of legislation that governs the protection of personal data in the UK. Although the Act itself does not mention privacy, it was enacted to bring UK law into line with the European (UK)
- Personality rights Personality rights is a common or casual reference to the proper term of art "Right of Publicity". The Right of Publicity can be defined simply as the right of an individual to control the commercial use of his or her name, image, likeness or other unequivocal aspects of one's identity. It is generally considered a property right as
References
- ^ See for example, Somwar v. McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Ltd, [2006] O.J. No. 64 for a discussion on this
- ^ a b Eastmond v. Canadian Pacific Railway & Privacy Commissioner of Canada, June 11, 2004 2004 was a leap year that started on a Thursday. In the Gregorian calendar, the year 2004 was the 2004th year in the Anno Domini or Common Era, the 4th year in the 3rd millennium and of the 21st century, and the 5th in the 2000s decade
- ^ Law Resources
- ^ Warren and Brandeis (December 15, 1890). "The Right to Privacy". Harvard Law Review IV (5): 193. http://www.law.louisville.edu/library/collections/brandeis/node/225.
- ^ Dean Prosser William Lloyd Prosser was the Dean of the College of Law at UC Berkeley from 1948 to 1961. Prosser authored several editions of Prosser on Torts, universally recognized as the leading work on the subject of tort law for a generation and still widely used today (now in its 11th Edition). Furthermore, in the 1950s, Dean Prosser became Reporter for, 'Privacy' (1960) 48 California Law Review 383
Categories: Privacy law | Privacy
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