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Privacy Laws

The privacy laws in Canada, the United States, the European countries and other parts of the world are, for the most part, based on the widely accepted Fair Information Practice Principles set out in the 1981 OECD Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data. However, privacy laws around the world still differ in many respects. With this complex web of legislation, organizations with a presence in multiple jurisdictions , such as those conducting business on-line, need to design policies and practices that do not violate any one privacy law that applies to the business.

Data protection commissioners would like to see more consistency in the laws, their application, and how they are being interpreted. Although there are many efforts underway to harmonize legislation and come up with international privacy standards. progress is slow. Such work is critical in today's world, when so much business is conducted on a global scale and electronic information flows freely across national boundaries.