BKBUPRLH.RVW   20081123

"The Business Privacy Law Handbook", Charles H. Kennedy, 2008,
978-1-59693-176-3, U$109.00
%A   Charles H. Kennedy ckennedy@mofo.com
%C   685 Canton St., Norwood, MA   02062
%D   2008
%G   978-1-59693-176-3 1-59693-176-0
%I   Artech House/Horizon
%O   U$109.00 617-769-9750 800-225-9977 artech@artech-house.com
%O  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1596931760/robsladesinterne
  http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1596931760/robsladesinte-21
%O   http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/1596931760/robsladesin03-20
%O   Audience a- Tech 2 Writing 2 (see revfaq.htm for explanation)
%P   312 p.
%T   "The Business Privacy Law Handbook"

The preface states that this is a survey of business privacy law in
the United States, and the changes that field is undergoing, intended
for business managers and those advising them.  The introduction is
rather interesting: on the one hand, it lays out a five-step process
to guide the task of ensuring compliance with privacy regulations, and
on the other, it points out how complex this undertaking is, in the
labyrinthine legal environment of the US.

Part one addresses issues of information relating to consumers and
customers.  Chapter one deals with information collected on the
Internet and through Websites.  As the US has no general national
standards in this regard, most of the discussion deals with the design
of corporate privacy policies for Websites.  There is also an
examination of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). 
Various US and state laws with implications for general information
security and protection are noted in chapter two, which also has a
brief section on information risk identification.  Legislation
relating to companies in the financial industry are reviewed in
chapter three.  Chapter four notes the provisions of the Electronic
Communications Privacy Act, the Stored Communications Act, and special
provisions for communications carriers.  The implications of HIPAA
(the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) for the
health industry are outlined in chapter five, which also notes some
related state laws.  Although ostensibly about the European Union
privacy directives, the rather terse material in chapter six is more
about the Safe Harbor framework of the US Department of Commerce.

Part two looks at job applicants and employees.  Chapter seven is a
brief review of the hiring process, and it is interesting to note that
the common opposition (by employers) to providing detailed references
has little objective basis.  The examination of internal
investigations, as discussed in chapter eight, is limited, and repeats
content from chapter seven.  Chapter nine's deliberation on
surveillance is primarily concerned with tapping of phone and email
conversations.

Part three turns to communications with customers and consumers, with
three successive chapters on marketing types of intercourse;
telemarketing (in chapter ten), fax advertising (eleven), and spam
(twelve).  Chapter thirteen, on the monitoring of customer
communications, is a mere three paragraphs in total length, and is a
reiteration of some of the content of chapter nine.

Appendices list state privacy and data security laws.

It is unfortunate that the title does not make clear the US-centric
nature of the material, but it is reasonable for a legal text to
concentrate on one jurisdiction.  Despite occasional shortcomings in
specific areas, this text does provide a detailed, up-to-date and
quite comprehensive overview of the convoluted mess of American
privacy law.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 2008   BKBUPRLH.RVW   20081123