Law Library of Congress Updated Report on Online Privacy Law

The Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. recently published an updated version of its 2012 report on online privacy:

"The newly updated country surveys for the EU Member States included in the prior reports analyze this overarching European legislation and summarize changes in domestic legislation adopted over the the past five years.  The country surveys included in this study allow one to compare the details of how individual nations adapt international legal rules, assess powers granted to authorities in charge of monitoring the implementation of national data protection information, and analyze particular issues, which are specific for each country.  Among other issues, the individual country surveys provide examples of legal measures undertaken to secure the country’s transition to a 'digital republic' (France), efforts to protect data at the company level (Germany), new procedures for breach notifications (Netherlands), and attempts to make government information more easily accessible (Italy). Those surveys also illustrate how countries analyze the impact of technological advancements on national criminal legislation (Spain), review the legality of investigative authorities to access data retained by telecommunications providers (United Kingdom) and the right of government agencies to sell collected personal information (Sweden), assess government attempts to protect minors when they engage in online activities (France, United Kingdom), and evaluate the impact of the Google v. Spain decision on the development of national data transfer legislation (EU countries). "

"Surveys of significant legal developments in Australia, Canada, Israel, and Japan provide an example of how non-EU Member States have amended their national data and online privacy protection legislative frameworks over the past five years to meet present-day challenges and concerns." 

The Law Library of Congress is the world’s largest law library, with a collection of over 2.65 million volumes from all ages of history and virtually every jurisdiction in the world.