Books and Journals

This is a starting point to books, journals and reports on data protection and privacy in general and is by no means exhaustive.

Cook, Trevor. Protection of regulatory data in the pharmaceuticals and other industry. (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 1999).

Council of Europe. The protection of medical data (Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 1997).

Cullen International s.a. A business guide to change in European data protection legislation. (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1998)

European Communities. Online services and data protection and the protection of privacy (Luxembourg: European Communities, 1999).

Lloyd, I. A guide to the Data Protection Act 1998 (London: Butterworths Tolley, 1998).

Lloyd, I. Information Technology Law, 4th ed (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004 - includes recent developments on data protection.

Politt, P.L, J. Mullock & O. Clarke. The point of law: Data Protection Act explained (London: SO, 2000).

Reed, Christopher & John Angel. Computer law, 4th ed. (London: Blackstone Press, 2000).

Reidenberg, J.R. & P. Schwartz. Data privacy law: a study of United States data protection (Michie:NATL Press, 1996)

Roth, P (et al.) The global encyclopaedia of Data Protection Regulation (The Hague: Kluwer, 2000).

Wong, R. "Data protection online: alternative approaches to sensitive data", Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology Vol. 2, No. 1 (2007), reprinted in ICFAI Journal of Cyberlaw (May 2007).

Wong, R. "Sensitive data: time for a change" Journal of Internet Law, March 2007.

Wong, R. (co-author) "Regulating VoIP: an EU/US approach", American University International Law Review (forthcoming Spring 2007).

Wong, R. (co-author) "Demystifying clickstream data: a European and US perspective", Emory International Law Review, Forthcoming 2007.

Wong, R. (co-author) "All or nothing: this is the question: the application of Art. 3(2) to the internet" (International Review for Computers and Law, Forthcoming 2007).

Wong, R. "Privacy: charting its developments and prospects" In: Human Rights in the Digital Age, ed by Klang, M. & A. Murray, 2005.

Further Reading

For an indepth analysis on any aspect relating to data protection or freedom of information, see the list below:

Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: a workshop summary - 'This report presents a summary of a workshop, held by the NRC at the request of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, to explore many of the key technical and policy issues. Several important themes that are likely to govern expansion.'

Freedom of Information, 3rd ed, by Birkenshaw (Cambridge: CUP, 2001) ' Examines the relationship between law, political culture and information control, this work combines a technical knowledge of English law, an account of the history of political secrecy in Britain and an informed acquaintance with the shady detail of political and administrative practice.'

A report (pdf) published by Linklaters found that although the 'accession countries have been swift to implement the data protection and e-privacy directives, a large majority have failed to implement them correctly in a number of important respects.' The findings from the report provide an updated account of the extent to which accession countries comply with the European Data Protection Directive and its complementary Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications.

The Privacy and Security Compliance Survey was conducted by the American Health Information Management to assess compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act within the health care industry. It found that nearly 68% of respondents to the survey feel their facilities are currently between 85-99% compliant while only 8% of respondents report being 50% or less compliant. The report is in Pdf format.

A report of research on privacy for Electronic Government - This report was compiled to show the latest developments of privacy and privacy-enhancing technologies. Although, it was compiled with Japan in mind, it does provide a useful account of the subject within Europe, USA and Canada. According to the same report, 'privacy is foundation of democracy... privacy has important substantial effects on every part of electronic government that we are heading toward.' The full text of the report is provided in pdf format.

Protecting Data Privacy in Health Services Research (2000) - This report was recently published by the Institute of Medicine and is available online. Its aim was to provide information on protecting privacy in health services research in the US

Barendt, E (ed.) Privacy, 2nd series (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2001) - This book provides a collection of essays on the subject of privacy. Furthermore, it provides an interesting dimension to the theoretical and philsophical views on this field. Topics that were discussed includes the value and scope of privacy. It is highly recommended for anyone studying this field.

Council for Excellence in Government and Accenture. "The New e-Government Equation: Ease, Engagement, Privacy and Protection"(S1: 2003) - Although, this study is US based, it found that more than 60% of Americans who use the Internet were interested in using e-government for conducting activities such as filing a change of address, responding to a jury summons, renewing a driver's license,or obtaining a birth certificate or marriage license. See their website for more details.

Bennett, C.J. & C. Raab. The governance of privacy: policy instruments in a global perspective (S1: Dartmouth, 2003)- Provides an interesting perspective to the whole field of privacy and addresses 'the politics of privacy protection with regard to personal information.' In particular, there is a chapter on privacy enhancing technologies. It is recommended for those who are researching in this field.

Job Search Privacy Study 2003 by The World Privacy Forum - A study into the privacy practices of online job sites found that 'job seekers who go to online sites seeking employment run a considerable risk of having their confidential information improperly sold, shared or used for profiling purposes.' The report is in Pdf format.

Privacy & Human Rights Report 2003 - A recent survey was conducted by EPIC and Privacy International, which examines the state of the privacy laws, covering over 55 countries. It can be purchased directly from EPIC

Journals on Data Protection and Freedom of Information

Last updated May 2007