A global privacy network is launched

THE US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has teamed up with privacy enforcement authorities from 11 countries to launch the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN).

The network will promote information sharing and international assistance in enforcement of privacy laws.

GPEN opened its website today at www.privacyenforcement.net to promote public awareness of its existence.

FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz said that to protect consumers' privacy in today's global economy, coppers from around the world need to cooperate.

In addition to the FTC, network participants currently include privacy enforcement authorities from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

It is unlikely that the site will get many hits, but it does indicate that there is a will amongst some  government agencies to try and get some agreement internationally on privacy.

It is nice to see, particularly as governments are getting increasingly demanding about the amount of information people are being forced to hand over to other government departments.  We wonder how long it will take before people start complaining about CCTV cameras everywhere on the streets or government spooks tracking our mobiles, hoovering up all of our Internet traffic or getting the right to inspect our PCs. µ