E-Commerce Law Week, Issue 355

Revenge of the Nannies -- FTC's Disposal Rule Goes Into Effect, and the Shredding Begins!
Looking for a dark horse candidate for “most likely to benefit from the current identity theft craze”?  Our money is on the shredder industry.  Its profits should soon skyrocket thanks to the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) " Disposal Rule," which became effective June 1.  The rule requires both businesses and individuals to take reasonable measures to dispose of consumer information derived from consumer reports -- namely, by shredding it.  And who, under the new rule, will be forced to go out and buy a shredder?  Just about anyone who uses a consumer report, it seems.   Except for certain federally regulated financial institutions, the Disposal Rule applies to any person who maintains or possesses “consumer information for a business purpose,” which could range from consumer reporting agencies to families employing a nanny.

Boy, These Really Are Friendly Skies -- Wiretaps Proposed for In-Flight Cell Phones
Should the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allow cell phone conversations in flight?  Many travellers have mixed feelings about the idea, but law enforcement  supports the idea -- as long as law enforcement can go along for the ride.  In a May 26 filing, law enforcement gave its cautious support to an FCC proposal to permit cell phone use on airplanes, provided that the FCC order wireless carriers to provide them the usual intercept capabilities already required by the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA)  -- plus a long "wish list" of non-CALEA capabilities.  Among other things, law enforcement wants to know where inside the plane the caller is standing or sitting.

Three-Way Fight Brews Over European Data Retention
Europeans really don't seem to be getting along very well at the moment.  On the heels of the popular referenda in France and the Netherlands rejecting the proposed European Constitution, a fight among three arms of the EU government appears to be brewing over the contentious issue of retention of telecommunications traffic data.  Late last year, progress stalled on an EU-level Framework Decision on data retention, proposed by the EU Council (i.e., the representatives of the EU member state governments), and various EU member states began adopting a confusing patchwork of national requirements specifying a variety of different data retention periods.  But now EU authorities have jumped back in.  On May 24, the EU Council proposed revised Framework Decision on data retention.  Although the Council's revised draft prescribes a standard retention period of one year, it allows deviation by individual member states -- which would be allowed to specify retention periods varying from six months to four years.  Effectively, this proposal would enact rather than fix the patchwork already created by member states.

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