Launch of the WPF Discussion Forum: The Paradox of Consent, analysis by Bob Gellman

Discussion Forum: Consent and Privacy — World Privacy Forum launches its Discussion Forum with an inaugural paper by Robert Gellman on the complexities of consent in the privacy sphere. Gellman’s analysis focuses on the core privacy issues underlying “The Maine Incident,” that is, Maine’s historic 1998 passage of medical privacy legislation, and the subsequent repealing of key aspects of that legislation two weeks after it was enacted. Issues related to consent were key factors in the Maine events.

Update: World Privacy Forum’s National Health Information Network Timeline

National Health Information Network — Recently, the first live prototypes of the NHIN were demonstrated in Washington, D.C. This was a milestone event in the development of the planned network. The National Health Information Network is an ambitious project the U.S. government undertook in 2004 to digitize and network patient health records across the nation. This project raises challenging confidentiality, privacy, and security issues.

Genetic Privacy Page

Genetic privacy | medical privacy — The World Privacy Forum has published a new page on genetic privacy outlining basic policy issues and collecting World Privacy Forum work in the area. The page also links to key external research being done in privacy and genetics, and also links to key organizations doing work in this area in the U.S. and the U.K.

Commercial drivers’ license applicants requesting exemption from the diabetes standard have their personal medical information, name, age, and more published in the Federal Register; World Privacy Forum urges changes to the practice

Medical privacy | Department of Transportation — The World Privacy Forum filed comments with the Department of Transportation today regarding the department’s publicationof the detailed personal medical information of individuals subject to DOT regulations in the Federal Register along with their names, ages, and other identifying information. The WPF comments argue that personal medical information combined with name, age, etc. does not belong in the Federal Register, where it can have potentially far-reaching consequences for those individuals who are named as well as their family members. The comment period closes April 2.

Public Comments: March 2007 Commercial drivers’ license applicants requesting exemption from the diabetes standard have their personal medical information, name, age, and more published in the Federal Register; World Privacy Forum urges changes to the practice

The World Privacy Forum filed comments with the Department of Transportation today regarding the department’s publication of the detailed personal medical information of individuals subject to DOT regulations in the Federal Register along with their names, ages, and other identifying information. The WPF comments argue that personal medical information combined with name, age, etc. does not belong in the Federal Register, where it can have potentially far-reaching consequences for those individuals who are named as well as their family members.