The following item was posted recently on Foley Hoag’s Corporate Social Responsibility and the Law blog, and we thought it would be of interest to our readers. Companies seeking to develop privacy policies that both comply with national laws and respect internationally recognized human rights often face difficult challenges, especially when confronted with specific host government requests. All companies concerned with the human rights implications of their activities are advised to assess the sufficiency of existing policies as well as the company’s capacity to identify and manage potentially challenging scenarios.… More
Monthly Archives: August 2010
Taking of a Blood Sample and Creation of a DNA Profile Found Not to Be an Unreasonable Search
In a recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, Martin Boroiang v. Robert S. Mueller, III, et al., No. 09-1630, the First Circuit rejected a challenge to the requirement that a blood sample be given by a federal offender for purposes of creating a DNA profile and entering it into a centralized government database.
The DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 (“DNA Act”) applies to individuals who have been convicted of a “qualifying federal offense”… More
Balancing Privacy and Security in an Age of Instant, Ubiquitous Communications
In a recent article in the New York Times discussed the "growing tension between communications companies and governments over how to balance privacy with national security." This tension is not limited to that context, however. Nearly every workplace that uses email faces a similar tension between open access and secure communications. And this debate splits people. An ongoing informal survey by The Economist suggests that the number of people who want more control and restrictions over communication are nearly equally balanced by those who chafe at such restrictions. … More