This book identifies and explains the different national approaches to data protection – the legal regulation of the collection, storage, transmission and use of information concerning identified or identifiable individuals – and determines the extent to which they could be harmonised in the foreseeable future. In recent years, data protection has become a major concern in many countries, as well as at supranational and international levels. In fact, the emergence of computing technologies that allow lower-cost processing of increasing amounts of information, associated with the advent and exponential use of the Internet and other communication networks and the widespread liberalization of the trans-border flow of information have enabled the large-scale collection and processing of personal data, not only for scientific or commercial uses, but also for political uses. A growing number of governmental and private organizations now possess and use data processing in order to determine, predict and influence individual behavior in all fields of human activity. This inevitably entails new risks, from the perspective of individual privacy, but also other fundamental rights, such as the right not to be discriminated against, fair competition between commercial enterprises and the proper functioning of democratic institutions. These phenomena have not been ignored from a legal point of view: at the national, supranational and international levels, an increasing number of regulatory instruments – including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation applicable as of 25 May 2018 – have been adopted with the purpose of preventing personal data misuse. Nevertheless, distinct national approaches still prevail in this domain, notably those that separate the comprehensive and detailed protective rules adopted in Europe since the 1995 Directive on the processing of personal data from the more fragmented and liberal attitude of American courts and legislators in this respect. In a globalized world, in which personal data can instantly circulate and be used simultaneously in communications networks that are ubiquitous by nature, these different national and regional approaches are a major source of legal conflict.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this practical guide to privacy and data protection law in Brazil covers every aspect of the subject, including the protection of private life as a fundamental – constitutional – right, the application of international and/or regional conventions protecting the right to privacy, privacy rights in the context of electronic communications or at the workplace, and the protection of individuals regarding the processing of personal data relating to them. Following a general introduction about the country, the monograph assembles its information and guidance in two parts: (1) protection of privacy, including national case law regarding the protection of this fundamental right, specific legislation on the confidentiality of interpersonal communications, and sector-specific rules regarding privacy protection, such as privacy rights of employees, patients, consumers or celebrities; (2) personal data protection, including not only general rules on data quality, legitimate processing, data retention, data subject rights, security and accountability, but also specific provisions regarding the processing of health data or other sensitive personal information, further processing for research purposes, exemptions for law enforcement or national security purposes, and rules regarding liabilities, sanctions and redress.

This casebook on privacy, information, and surveillance law is the most comprehensive on the market. In addition to covering federal regulatory regimes, it explores the full range of constitutional and state privacy tort doctrines. It has been updated to include human rights and EU developments and expose readers to recent debates over cloud computing, social marketing, and the role of the Federal Trade Commission. Chapter 1 of the textbook focuses on the four common law invasion of privacy torts, plus the publicity tort and breach of confidentiality. Chapter 2 focuses on constitutional law, with special attention to the First, Fourth and 14th Amendments. Chapter 3 includes cases and materials that lay out federal information policy, including fair information practice standards reflected in the Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Family Education and Right to Privacy Act, The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, HIPPA, Gramm-Leach-Bliley and many others. Chapter 4 takes up communications privacy and federal approaches to the regulation of intelligence, law enforcement and private surveillance. All of this is accomplished with considerable attention to the ethical, social and policy foundations of the field.

This book stems from the CyberBRICS project, which is the first major attempt to produce a comparative analysis of Internet regulations in the BRICS countries – namely, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The project has three main objectives: 1) to map existing regulations; 2) to identify best practices; and 3) to develop policy recommendations in the various areas that compose cybersecurity governance, with a particular focus on the strategies adopted by the BRICS countries to date. Each study covers five essential dimensions of cybersecurity: data protection, consumer protection, cybercrime, the preservation of public order, and cyberdefense. The BRICS countries were selected not only for their size and growing economic and geopolitical relevance but also because, over the next decade, projected Internet growth is expected to occur predominantly in these countries. Consequently, the technology, policy and governance arrangements defined by the BRICS countries are likely to impact not only the 3.2 billion people living in them, but also the individuals and businesses that choose to utilize increasingly popular applications and services developed in BRICS countries according to BRICS standards. Researchers, regulators, start-up innovators and other Internet stakeholders will find this book a valuable guide to the inner workings of key cyber policies in this rapidly growing region.

Companies, lawyers, privacy officers, compliance managers, as well as human resources, marketing and IT professionals are increasingly facing privacy issues. While plenty of information is freely available, it can be difficult to grasp a problem quickly, without getting lost in details and advocacy. This is where Determann’s Field Guide to Data Privacy Law comes into its own – identifying key issues and providing concise practical guidance for an increasingly complex field shaped by rapid change in international laws, technology and society