Closed systems Sample Clauses

Closed systems. For the purposes of this discussion, a closed system is one in which all components that process, transmit or store personal information, as well as all users and operators with access to personal information can be trusted or held accountable for respecting applicable laws and regulations concerning the use of the private information. An example is a corporate network, where personal data is processed, transmitted and stored exclusively by data processing hardware and software owned and operated by the corporation, and all users and operators with access to personal information are employees. Implementing the ‘right to be forgotten’ in such a network is technically feasible, though not without its challenges. For instance, when the owner of an item of personal information exercises her right to be forgotten, finding and removing all copies of the information and any derived information (including cached copies stored on the local disks of employee computers, backup copies stored on archival storage media, etc.) can be technically challenging and require substantial operational overhead. A more complex type of closed system is an industry that shares personal information and is regulated by the government regarding the use of this information. For instance, the United States health care industry (health providers, insurance companies, and health care billing companies) as well as employers share patient records, and are jointly responsible for handling this information in accordance with Title II of the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Participating companies and organizations are trusted and held accountable for their appropriate use of personal information. The system is closed because all parties with access to the personal information are held accountable for their compliance with the law, and all personal information remains with the jurisdiction of the USA. In principle, the “right to be forgotten” can be implemented in such a system. In practice, however, privacy breaches in the healthcare sector are not uncommon, nor are losses of credit card information in the banking industry. This suggests that enforcing the right to be forgotten may be challenging even in closed systems. Even in closed systems, all users with access to personal information must be trusted to respect applicable privacy laws, because it is very difficult to ensure compliance by technical means alone. For instance, it would be difficult to prevent an...