Tag Archive: protection

German data protection officials couldn’t believe it when the CDs arrived. They contained six million piece of personal data, including bank account details and phone numbers. They’d bought the information online for just $1300.

Now, as the data protection of for Schleswig-Holstein investigate the source of the leak, which is believed to come from a call center. Call centers and lottery offices are suspected of selling data, according to the BBC, and lawmakers are calling for tougher restrictions.

Thilo Weichert, head of the Schleswig-Holstein data protection office, told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper:

It’s a major decision, and one that could have lasting reverberations. On Tuesday, according to ZDNet, the European Courtof Justice ruled that Internet service providers don’t have to release the names of file-sharers in civil cases.   It all stemmed from a court battle between Spanish ISP Telefonica and Promusicae, which handles music rights in the country. Promusicae had taken Telefonica to court in Spain,asking for the names and addresses of illegal file-sharers so they could launch civil actions. However, Telefonica argued that they should only have to release that information in criminal cases.  Without making a decision, the Spanish courts then went to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for clarification on the law.   In a statement, the ECJ noted the necessity for a balancebetween the protection of personal data and the protection of copyright.   "The ECJ notes that the exceptions permitted by the directives on the protection of personal data include themeasures necessary for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. As the directive on privacy and electronic communications does not specify the rights and freedoms concerned by thatexception, it must be interpreted as expressing the European Community legislature’s intention not to exclude from its scope the protection of the right to property or situations in which authorsseek to obtain that protection in civil proceedings."   It did, however, leave the door open for the possibility of personal data being released in some civil cases. The ruling comes asseveral countries have hinted at harsher looks at file-sharers.