Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

International Restrictions on Releasing Personal Information

By M. James Daley and Laura Clark Fey
September 29, 2009

In June, data privacy experts from around the globe converged in Barcelona, Spain for The Sedona Conference's' International Programme on Cross-Border eDiscovery and Data Privacy. Participants, ranging from academics to data commissioners to judges to in-house and outside counsel from countries throughout North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia, gathered to dialogue on the legal, technology and cultural challenges posed by cross-border discovery conflicts. A wide variety of ideas were shared, but participants recognized that this international dilemma is not going to be solved overnight.

The challenge can be summarized as follows: With the globalization of business and the resultant flow of data across country borders, data sought in litigation, particularly litigation involving multinational corporations, increasingly includes personal information relating to employees, customers and/or clients that is located in foreign countries. A significant amount of that data is in the form of e-mails, which are recognized as personal data in most of the world other than the United States. The dilemma confronted by corporate counsel involved in such litigation is whether to disclose personal information located in foreign countries with laws that severely restrict the processing and transfer of personal data and risk being punished there with civil and/or criminal penalties; or to filter out the personal data and risk being sanctioned in the U.S. for incomplete responses to e-discovery requests.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

Bit Parts Image

Summary Judgment Denied Defendant in Declaratory Action by Producer of To Kill a Mockingbird Broadway Play Seeking Amateur Theatrical Rights

Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes Image

“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.

One Overlooked Element of Executive Safety: Data Privacy Image

Executives have access to some of the company's most sensitive information, and they're increasingly being targeted by hackers looking to steal company secrets or to perpetrate cybercrimes.

Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?