♫ LasT aSsignmenT in FinaLs ♫

♫summaRy oF The 1980 OECD pRivacy guidLines♫

The OECD organised several events at the IGF in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, including workshops on 'Global ICT services sourcing post-crisis, on 'Expanding access to the Internet and broadband for development' and on 'Using ICTs and the Internet to meet environmental challenges', as well as an open forum on 'The importance of Internet Access and Openness for a sustainable economic recovery.

• Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data.
• Ministerial Declaration on the Protection of Privacy of Global Networks.
• Inventory of Instruments and Mechanisms Contributing to the Implementation and Enforcement of the OECD Privacy Guidelines on Global Networks.
• OECD Privacy Policy Statement Generator.
• Building Trust in the Online Environment: Business-to-Consumer Dispute Resolution, Report of the December 2000 OECD Conference.
• Legal Provisions Related to Business-to-Consumer Alternative Dispute Resolution in Relation to Privacy and Consumer Protection.
• Resolving E-commerce Disputes Online: Asking the Right Questions About Alternative Dispute Resolution.
• Report on Compliance with, and Enforcement of, Privacy Protection Online.
• Inventory of Privacy-enhancing Technologies (PETs).
• Privacy-Enhancing Technologies: Report on the OECD Forum Session.
• Transborder Data Flow Contracts in the Wider Framework of Mechanisms for Privacy Protection on Global Networks.

♫key provision oF The USA paTRioT acT subJecT To sunseT♫

The clumsily-titled Uniting and strengthening America by providing appropriate tools required to intercept and obstruct terrorism act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act, or USAPA) introduced a plethora of legislative changes which significantly increased the surveillance and investigative powers of law enforcement agencies in the United States. The Act did not, however, provide for the system of checks and balances that traditionally safeguards civil liberties in the face of such legislation.

One of the most striking features of the USA PATRIOT Act is the lack of debate surrounding its introduction. Many of the provisions of the Act relating to electronic surveillance were proposed before September 11th, and were subject to much criticism and debate. John Podesta, White House Chief of Staff from 1998 - 2001, has questioned what has changed since then.

The events of September 11 convinced ... overwhelming majorities in Congress that law enforcement and national security officials need new legal tools to fight terrorism. But we should not forget what gave rise to the original opposition - many aspects of the bill increase the opportunity for law enforcement and the intelligence community to return to an era where they monitored and sometimes harassed individuals who were merely exercising their First Amendment rights. Nothing that occurred on September 11 mandates that we return to such an era.However, the USA PATRIOT Act retains provisions appreciably expanding government investigative authority, especially with respect to the Internet. Those provisions address issues that are complex and implicate fundamental constitutional protections of individual liberty, including the appropriate procedures for interception of information transmitted over the Internet and other rapidly evolving technologies.The USA PATRIOT does contain a provision requiring law enforcement to file under seal with the court a record of installations of pen register/trap and trace devices. This amendment may provide some measure of judicial oversight of the use of this enhanced surveillance authority.PATRIOT Act Renewal Bill Would Expand FBI Powers . Reuters reportsthat Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) plans to introduce legislation that would not only reauthorize sunsetting provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, but also expand the government's investigative powers to permit the FBI to demand health, library, and tax records in intelligence investigations without judicial approva