The Canadian Privacy Law Blog: Developments in privacy law and writings of a Canadian privacy lawyer, containing information related to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (aka PIPEDA) and other Canadian and international laws.

On Twitter

About this page and the author

The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

For full contact information and a brief bio, please see David's profile.

Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

Privacy Calendar

Links

RSS FEED for this site

Blogs I Follow

Small Print

The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

This web site is presented for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and David T.S. Fraser. If you are seeking specific advice related to Canadian privacy law or PIPEDA, contact the author, David T.S. Fraser.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

US and Europe closer to information sharing pact

For over a year now, the United States and the European Union have been negotiating an arrangement so that US law enforcement and national security organizations can have easier access to data in Europe and about Europeans. The New York Times is reporting that that the two parties are closer to an arrangement that would permit trolling through personal information for suspicious activities, such as the review of SWIFT data that the American government undertook as the data was resident in the United States. One of the remaining issues is whether European citizens will have an ability to sue the Americans for misuse of their data.

The fact that Europe and the Bush administration are engaged in this process is a good thing. The alternatives are to shut off the tap entirely, which may not be a good idea, or to allow American authorities to freely troll through European data as easily as information about Americans, which would be worse. In Canada, Maher Arar learned the hard way about what can happen if an unstructured, unregulated information sharing "system" results in the transfer of unreliable information to the Bush administration.

Recently, the Canadian Bar Association presented its recommendations to Parliament, demanding that all information sharing arrangements be in writing with safeguards and oversight to make sure that information is accurate and does not unreasonably invade personal privacy.

The NYTimes article is here: U.S. and Europe Near Accord on Privacy - NYTimes.com.

Thanks to Rob Hyndman for the link.

Labels: europe, law enforcement, lawful access, national security, patriot act, privacy