How To Identify International Privacy Act Laws

The world’s view on privacy is that it is a fundamental human right that has become one of the most important rights of the modern age. Privacy is protected by various world-wide organizations such as the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Privacy is also recognized and protected by individual countries. At a minimum each country has a provision for privacy rights, rights of inviolability of the home and secrecy of communications. But the definition of privacy may vary according to context and environment. This is where one country’s privacy act differs from another's.

There are different world views on privacy. For example, the United States sees privacy as the right to be left alone. Australia views privacy as an essential human right and the rational expectation of every person. The United Kingdom on the other hand sees it as the right of each person to be protected from invasion of his personal life or affairs by direct physical means or by publication of any information.

There are two types of privacy laws that have been established by various countries for privacy protection: comprehensive and sectoral. Comprehensive laws are defined as general laws that oversee the collection, use and distribution of personal information by the public and private sectors. These often require commissioners or some independent enforcement body. Consultation of an independent body by the government must be done when drawing up new privacy legislation. Sectoral laws focus on specific sectors. Enforcement is achieved through a wide range of mechanisms.

Here is a list of the different laws by different countries that protect information privacy.

1. Canada – Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. Provides protection for certain data transferred from the European Union to Canada.
2. United Kingdom – Data Protection Act of 1998. Covers records held by government agencies and private entities.
3. United States – There is no explicit privacy statement in the constitution. There is a limited constitutional right to privacy implied in the number of provisions in the Bill of Rights. They did not adopt a comprehensive privacy law; instead they have a patchwork of federal laws that cover specific categories of personal information. But they do provide a law in terms of medical privacy. In 1996 the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed by the U.S. Congress. This protects the insurance coverage for employees and their respective families when they switch or get fired from their jobs.
4. Australia – Privacy Act. Regulates information privacy and covers a number of different activities and sectors. It outlines the principles behind the law, violation etc.

A lot of work still needs to be done to ensure the security of personal information for all the individuals in all countries. It is vital that privacy be seen in a global standpoint, especially in medicine, rather than a merely national one. To handle privacy intrusions that cross national borders better, it is important that implementation of these laws is strictly upheld. This would not only help a country but the whole world in general.