[e-privacy] Da EDRi-Gram 4.21: Privacy Commissioners act together

[Andrea Glorioso]

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8. Privacy Commissioners act together
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At  the  28th annual   Conference of Data   Protection and Information
Commissioners held on   2-3 November in  London, privacy commissioners
from    ten   countries  adopted   common  policies    related to  the
international issue of increased citizen surveillance.

The document adopted  by the commissioners, titled "Communicating Data
Protection and  Making It More  Effective", asked for a common support
in creating an   international  convention on data protection,   first
agreed on by commissioners in 2005.

UK's Information  Commissioner, Richard Thomas welcomed the initiative
of the commissioners that show concern for the  protection of data. He
had   already warned  on the  dangers   created by   the monitoring of
individuals' actions in UK by   public  and private bodies. A   report
prepared  by the  Commissioner's office  had   showed a spilt  between
wealthy and  poor people in  both   physical and economical  mobility,
triggered by social profiles based on data gathering.

In the same direction, on the  occasion of the 72nd Federal Conference
of 19 October  2006  at Naumburg,  Germany, data  protection  officers
criticized  a  planned anti-terror file   as being unconstitutional. A
resolution was passed in this sense.

Although they think  the terrorism  threat has  to be  dealt with, the
German data protection   officers consider any   anti-terrorist action
should be within the Constitution and therefore they would like to see
some modifications in the planned anti-terror file.

Another concern expressed by the  data protection officers is  related
to a central "educational  register" with ID number for schoolchildren
and teachers  called  for by  the German   Standing  Conference of the
Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the  Länder, in view of
identifying    individual  data records    at   any  time.  The   data
protectionists have passed a resolution stating there is no clear need
for such a register at the national level.

A new resolution of the data protectionists was related  to the use of
RFID chips and the creation  of secret profiles  by scanning data from
the  RFID devices. The resolution requires  for devices to disable the
chips used in the retail and service sectors and the use of encryption
during data   transmission and  storing  to prevent  data  scanning by
unauthorised persons.

However, just a couple of weeks after the German privacy commissioners
meeting, the Bundesrat, the upper chamber of the German Parliament has
approved the federal government's draft regulation on the introduction
of unique and permanent identity numbers, for tax assessment purposes.
Irrespective of age, each German citizen  will have an identity number
starting with July  2007. The  identity number,  given  by the Federal
Central  Tax Office, will  replace the taxpayer identification numbers
issued by the German federal states  and will include personal details
such as name, sex, date of birth or address.

Data protection  advocates  have largely  criticized  the proposed new
identity  number that will accompany  its  "owner" permanently for the
entire life and which will be included in a large database. They claim
there is no provision that would prevent the information collected for
this database to be used by the taxpayers' employers or clients.

Privacy chiefs vow to fight surveillance together (7.11.2006)
http://www.out-law.com/page-7452

"Communicating Data Protection and Making It More Effective" (3.11.2006)
http://ico.crl.uk.com/files/Communicating%20data%20protection%20and%20making%20it%20more%20effective%20-%2020%20October%202006%20(E).pdf

Results of the Data protection Officers Conferences (27.10.2006, only in
German)
http://www.bfdi.bund.de/nn_531946/DE/Oeffentlichkeitsarbeit/Entschliessungssammlung/Functions/DSK__table.html

Data protectionists criticize anti-terror file and register of
schoolchildren (30.10.2006)
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/80205

Bundesrat gives the green light to identity number (7.11.2006)
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/80622

--
      Andrea Glorioso || http://people.digitalpolicy.it/sama/cv/
          M: +39 348 921 4379	     F: +39 051 930 31 133
       "Truth is a relationship between a theory and the world;
       beauty is a relationship between a theory and the mind."
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