On Sun, Jun 19, 2016 at 8:54 AM, David L. Craig <dlc.usa@gmail.com> wrote:

On 16Jun17:0810-0400, Paul Davis wrote:

> The USA has no data protection laws, and
> even under the Obama administration tends to defer to the wishes and whims
> of large corporations.

I refer you to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Insurance_Portability_and_Accountability_Act

: Title II of HIPAA defines policies, procedures and
: guidelines for maintaining the privacy and security of
: individually identifiable health information as well
: as outlining numerous offenses relating to health care
: and sets civil and criminal penalties for violations.

Ask your doctor's office if they've ever heard of HIPPA.

HIPPA is health-information specific.

Compare and contrast with the EU data protection laws. Nothing in the USA, not HIPPA and not the other "departmental standards" you mention, come close.

You may have noticed, for example, that many websites with servers physically located in the EU or owned by a corporation or individual based in the EU will ask you for permission to use cookies. This is because of EU law, not out of the goodness of their hearts. Many US companies have been forced to jump through hoops to deal with the implications of EU data protection law, precisely because there is nothing comparable "at home".

Incidentally, I'm not a huge fan of the EU law(s). But they're better than what we don't have in the US ...