In our age of Facebook, WikiLeaks and Whistle-blowers, it may seem that no information is sacred. And yet the law says it is. Although much of our personal information (contact details, personal photos etc.) may be made available intentionally (or worse - unintentionally) on line, there is still a basic legal structure in operation which lays down and protects our ultimate right to privacy. This IRIS plus examines these rights in the current climate of Internet indiscretions…
A study of privacy issues in today's connected world where "the right to know" collides with data protection concerns…
LEAD ARTICLE
Copyright and the Protection of Personal Data
Intermediaries Caught Between Two Areas of the Law.7
The lead article examines the "uneasy relationship" between copyright law and data protection. The conflict between these two areas of law arises when a rights holder tries to get information on the identities of those who pirate their work, for example. They will come up against data protection, the individual's right to remain private, and thus "hidden" from such pursuit. The article examines this legal conflict with reference to the various legal texts and looks at the different solutions which have been found on a national level.
Lead article chapter headings:
I. Introduction
II. Legal bases at European level
1. Aspects in terms of fundamental rights
2. Primary law
3. Secondary law
III. Actual areas of conflict
1. Right to request information from the infringer
2. Right to request information from intermediaries
3. Proportionality of national rights to information
4. Intermediaries' obligation to establish filter systems
5. Internet access blocks – national provisions
6. Problems involved when a service is used against payment
IV. Conclusion
RELATED REPORTING
Recent case law
The Related Reporting Section of this new report provides recent national examples of case law where copyright, freedom of expression, privacy and data protection issues have gone head to head in the European courts.
ZOOM
The Patriot Act & the Fourth Amendment
How the US Government is Secretly Expanding its Authority to Collect the Private Data of its Citizens
The final Zoom chapter traces the background to the 2001 Patriot Act which, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, allowed the US government more far-reaching powers to indiscriminately collect and store the private data of its citizens. This legislation is counteracted by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution which aims at protecting US citizens against "unreasonable searches and seizures". A useful and succinct account of whistle blower Edward Snowden, the NSA and the now (in)famous PRISM programme…
Zoom article chapter headings :
I. Introduction
II. The legal restrictions on the US Government for collecting data
III. The scope of data collection
IV. The Government's legal justifications of its secret programmes
V. Government acknowledgement of overreach
VI. Conclusion
In our age of Facebook, WikiLeaks and Whistle-blowers, it may seem that no information is sacred. And yet the law says it is. Although much of our personal information (contact details, personal photos etc.) may be made available intentionally (or worse - unintentionally) on line, there is still a basic legal structure in operation which lays down and protects our ultimate right to privacy. This IRIS plus examines these rights in the current climate of Internet indiscretions…
A study of privacy issues in today's connected world where "the right to know" collides with data protection concerns…
