Data protection and privacy officials and interest groups across
the globe produced a flurry of activity on social media this week.
Countless tweets, blogs and articles have responded to President
Trump's executive order directed at Enhancing Public
Safety, signed during his first full week in office.
The new U.S. executive order
The order, which is chiefly aimed at immigration-related
activity, also limits privacy protection under the United States
Privacy Act of 1974 to U.S. citizens and permanent residents of the
United States – at least to the extent permitted by law.
Section 14 of the Enhancing Public Safety order reads:
"Agencies shall, to the extent consistent with applicable
law, ensure that their privacy policies exclude persons who are not
United States citizens or lawful permanent residents from the
protections of the Privacy Act regarding personally identifiable
information."
