Dear All, It was my understanding that we are supposed to discuss data protection and privacy frameworks that may impact the work of the larger RGS Working Group. To that end, I believe that the 1995 EU Data Protection Directive provides a framework that impels our evaluation. This is the framework for the data protection laws in Europe and a model for data protection laws globally. In particular, I post the *"Obligations of data controllers" *on the European Commission's website at the link below. These obligations for data controllers include, among other requirements: "Each *data controller *must respect the following rules as set out in the *Directive*: - Personal Data must be processed legally and fairly; - It must be *collected for explicit and legitimate purposes *and used accordingly; - It must be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purposes for which it is collected and/or further processed; - It must be *accurate, *and updated where necessary; - Data controllers must ensure that data subjects can rectify, remove or block incorrect data about themselves; - Data that identifies individuals (personal data) must not be kept any longer than strictly necessary; - *Data controllers must protect personal data *against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration and disclosure, particularly when processing involves data transmission over networks. They shall implement the appropriate security measures; - These protection measures must ensure a level of protection appropriate to the data." LINK: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/data-collection/obligations/inde... [Note: all emphasis in bold above is from the original text] I certainly think that this is a framework of principles and legal obligations that draw our consideration in this subgroup and this WG. I also welcome the many newcomers to this WG and subgroup. We need your energy and input! Best, Kathy (Kleiman)