Protection of Private Information - Assignment Example

A stricter law sometimes paved way for hindrance for multinational companies that operated in European Union countries but in the broader sense, all member nations could exchange private information in the private and public segment (Data Protection and Privacy. n.d). The European Union authorities have signed a pact with the United States that enables officials in the United States to have wide access to private information like credit card transactions, travel histories and internet surfing nature of people in Britain.

The United States law enforcement organizations and security agencies will have the liberty to access the private information of European Union citizens. The pact will undermine the privacy of individuals and Americans will have the freedom to check on anyone it finds fit for scrutiny. The propaganda has evoked mixed results among authorities within the European Union and some comment that local offices are not to be trusted while handling sensitive private information and the revelation of this data to another nation may result in virtual abuse.

The pact is of advantage to the United States because it can intrude into the details of any person in the European Union and Britain through credit card companies, banks, and other establishments that collect personal details. Earlier, the European Union imposed sanctions if any firm gave information against the information protection law. The pact will now give better protection for the firm on the transfer of private information. The pact is set to allow European governments and firms to exchange private details of internet and credit card users and make it legally binding on both the United States and European Union.

However, the required law has not been drafted whereby European Union citizens can hold the American government liable for misuse of information. The pact calls for the exchange of information about airlines and international bank transfers. Though this is not a total transfer of information between European Union nations and the United States, the pact provides extensive access to private information which is considered to be protected according to the European Union law (Leppard, 2008).The decision has come up after a difference of opinion evolved between Europe and the United States in terms of sharing private information post the 9/11 attacks.

The United States demanded information about air passenger and bank transfer details which most of the European Union nations denied stating privacy laws. The common agreement is finalized to evade future problems in terms of information sharing. But from the corporate point of view, more companies will be in a dilemma to find a balance between European and American law (the U.S., EU near deal on private data: NYTimes. 2008). New Zealand has amended the Privacy Act 1993 in December 2000 to secure a revelation by the European Commission that New Zealand's privacy protection policy is adequate according to Article 25 of the Data Protection Directive of the European Union.

The amendment was passed when New Zealand's Privacy Act is applauded as the most detailed national privacy policy maintained outside the European continent. The Act specifies twelve data privacy principles with respect to the collection, disclosure, use, and storage of private information. The law is applicable to personal data in all kinds and it is applicable to all agencies in the private and public segment. The law has a separate rule for unique identifiers and the government.