A council of 47 European countries is expected this year to approve the first international agreement on the use of personal data for online and offline profiling, the head of its law reform department said in an interview. The “recommendation on the protection of individuals with regard to automatic processing of personal data in the framework of profiling” covers online behavioral advertising and other forms of profiling, as well as activities by public authorities such as the police, said Jörg Polakiewicz. The Council of Europe’s effort was prompted by growing threats to privacy from computers’ ability to process data on the Internet, he said. The recommendation is a blueprint for national legislation, he said.
A council of 47 European countries is expected this year to approve the first international agreement on the use of personal data for online and offline profiling, the head of its law reform department said in an interview. The “recommendation on the protection of individuals with regard to automatic processing of personal data in the framework of profiling” covers online behavioral advertising and other forms of profiling, as well as activities by public authorities such as the police, said Jörg Polakiewicz. The Council of Europe’s effort was prompted by growing threats to privacy from computers’ ability to process data on the Internet, he said. The recommendation is a blueprint for national legislation, he said.
Electric utilities and telecom carriers clashed over whether utilities can rely on commercial networks to meet most of their communications needs during a disaster. More than a dozen parties filed reply comments on a Public Safety Bureau inquiry notice from April about the survivability of broadband networks. The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) and the Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) said utilities need their own secure networks and dedicated spectrum.
September is expected to be busy for public safety issues in Washington, but time and funding concerns are working against passing any legislation this year, said public safety and telecom industry officials. Legislation to set up a $70 million NTIA grant competition for public safety communications devices (CD July 30 p5) may have a better shot than bills involving the D-block, they said. The House and Senate have introduced nearly identical bills, HR-5907 and S-3731, sponsored by Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and neither has generated opposition.
A proposal identified as combining cybersecurity bills introduced by Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., would give the president broad emergency powers over critical infrastructure in the event of a cyber emergency and make the Department of Homeland Security the lead civilian agency setting cybersecurity regulations for private industry. The 81-page proposal we obtained from an industry lobbyist is titled “HSGAC/Commerce Combined Draft” and labeled “Staff Draft-for discussion purposes only” and “Last revised 8/2/10, 4:15 p.m.” It would make the private sector “responsible for enhancing security of the nation’s most critical systems while the government ensures effective oversight and compliance,” said a summary provided with the draft. None of the Senate offices we contacted would comment on the proposal.
A proposal identified as combining cybersecurity bills introduced by Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., would give the president broad emergency powers over critical infrastructure in the event of a cyber emergency and make the Department of Homeland Security the lead civilian agency setting cybersecurity regulations for private industry. The 81-page proposal we obtained from an industry lobbyist is titled “HSGAC/Commerce Combined Draft” and labeled “Staff Draft-for discussion purposes only” and “Last revised 8/2/10, 4:15 p.m.” It would make the private sector “responsible for enhancing security of the nation’s most critical systems while the government ensures effective oversight and compliance,” said a summary provided with the draft.
GOV.cn reported on August 27, 2010 that China is enacting various measures, such as increasing its annual grain harvest and creating new grain safety legislation, to ensure a food-secure society, according to Zhang Ping, minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Zhang stated that the NDRC and other food administrative agencies were working together in a draft law on food and grain. Zhang also stated that China has established a preliminary emergency response system for grain safety, strengthening the production, storage, transportation and distribution of food and grain during emergency situations.
On August 30, 2010, President Obama issued Executive Order 13551, which supplements EO 13382 and expands the scope of the national emergency declared in EO 13466 with respect to certain Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) sanctions.
Efforts by the National Center for Electronics Recycling (NCER) to harmonize various elements of state e-waste laws have the backing of the CE industry, but not all state program managers are enthusiastic, our survey found. Regulators in states with more-established e-waste laws see integration of state e-waste rules as better suited for programs that are just getting started. NCER, through the Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse, is bringing together regulators and industry players to look at areas in state laws that lend themselves to common approaches.
ST. GEORGES, Del. -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is circulating a cybersecurity proposal among Senate committees of jurisdiction that combines bills proposed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., Thursday. But the process is secretive and shutting out private industry, says a leading lobbyist, making him “very nervous."