Link Log: 28/01/08

Semester has started again and I’m trying to recover from three hours of Law on a Monday morning (cruel and unusual punishment, I feel.) which is currently akin to being at work without being paid. Sigh.

I am attempting to lure my brain out from where ever it scuttled off when semester started.

• Why personal data is like nuclear waste Interesting article by Cory Doctorow on personal data and the storage thereof.
• The Concerns of Copyright Reform Michael Geist looks at the privacy implications of copyright reform and digital rights management technologies.
• What Our Top Spy Doesn’t Get: Security and Privacy Aren’t Opposites Bruce Schneier on why security and privacy are not opposite ends of a seesaw. US-centric but still applicable.
• Don’t expect privacy law overhaul in the wake of HMRC Out-law.com opinion piece on the government’s reaction to the recent data losses.
• Out-Law.com’s guide to Data Protection Does what it says on the tin, last updated August 2005 but still a good overview.
• Privacy chief wants new criminal offence Information Commissioner Richard Thomas has asked the Government to create a new offence of recklessly or knowing breaching data protection principles punishable by unlimited fines.

Data loss petition

I remain firmly on the fence as to the…clout of the E-Petitions ^[1] towards actually making any change, particularly after receiving several responses to petitions I’ve signed that left me wondering if they were assuming that the average age of the signatory was approximately four years old and incapable of rational thought. But, that said, I also work on the principle that we don’t know if things will work unless we try them. So, with that in mind, here’s an interesting petition to consider and sign.

Petition to require all organisations to notify customers immediately of any personal data loss.

The petition calls on the Prime Minister to place a legal duty on public and private sector organisations, so that affected customers are informed immediately if the security of their personal data has been compromised.

1. Can we please stop adding the prefix “E” to things that are online? What is this? The 1990s?