Obama's new bill protects privacy of foreign allies

President Barack Obama just signed the Judicial Redress Act, a historic bill extending U.S. privacy protection laws to citizens of allied powers. The protective measures guarding data and which the bill serves are available to American citizens. Under this new law, foreign nationals covered by it can now sue the US government if they are found to be in violation of it, such as providing access to information without prior permission.

According to ABC News, the preservation of private information, including those pertaining to an individual's private data, as well as of national security, is one of the troubling issues that have sprung up out of the massive use of the digital landscape today. The illegal disclosure of a person's privacy data such as his name, address, credit card numbers, phone numbers, bank debt, marital status, and dependents, etc. is guarded by U.S. privacy protection laws. Through the Act, President Obama is making this same protection available to citizens living in countries considered allies by the United States, predominantly Europe.

The signing of the bill was seen as a measure to keep diplomatic ties as well as the trust of countries in Europe, given the recent publicized leaks by National Security Agency contractor, Edward Snowden. It was also a tactical move intended to persuade European allies to continue sharing law enforcement data with the United States.

The Hill adds that under the Judicial Redress Act, Europeans can challenge in any U.S. court any organization's perceived misuse of their private information. The bill had the unanimous support of both the Republican and Democratic Parties, and was passed in both chambers without any incident.

House sponsor Jim Sensenbrenner (R - Wisconsin) enthuses, "The president's signing of the Judicial Redress Act shows America's commitment to rebuilding trust between allies and demonstrates our nation's willingness to act in good faith with our European allies to secure open lines of communication between law enforcement agencies."  

The Washington Post describes the bill as key to a "new privacy shield safe harbor agreement" between the US and Europe.

Tags

President Barack Obama, privacy protection, privacy protection bill, law enforcement data, European allies

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