On this day in privacy history – Global Privacy Assembly

Privacy and data protection law has a rich history. This page lists notable events in the past.

(Updated: 6 April 2017)

Abbreviations: Proper names of international instruments, books and court cases etc., are frequently summarised or simplified. Well known abbreviations such as APEC and OECD are used without explanation. Less common abbreviations used include:

Adequate – shorthand for a legal finding that a country provides an adequate level of data protection, BCR – EU Binding Corporate Rules, CBPRs – APEC Cross Border Privacy Rules system, Convention 108 – Council of Europe Data Protection Convention, HRC – UN Human Rights Committee, ICCPR – UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, SCOTUS – Supreme Court of the United States, TBDF – Trans border Data Flows

Scroll down for the relevant month and date.

Month: JANUARY
Day	Year	On this day …
1.	1980 2011	The Norwegian Data Protection Authority (Datatilsynet) is created Australian Privacy Act extended to Norfolk Island Government agencies
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3.
4.	2001	Law for Protection of Personal Data is published in Bulgaria
5.
6.
7.	1839	Announcement to French Academy of Science of a practical photographic process
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10.	1927	Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (movie) released
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15.	1985	SCOTUS rules in NJ v TLO school search case
16.	2013	Mexico joins APEC CBPRs
17.
18.	1989	Council of Europe adopts employment data recommendation
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21.	1950	George Orwell dies
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23.	1986 1993	Council of Europe adopts Social Security data protection recommendation Mosaic browser released popularising the World Wide Web
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28.	1981 2015	Council of Europe Convention 108 opened for signature ICDPPC permanent website launched
29.	1916	Louis Brandeis nominated to SCOTUS
30.	2013	Morocco invited to accede to Council of Europe Convention 108
31.	2013 2011	1^st meeting of APEC-EU BCR-CBPR Committee, Jakarta European Commission decision recognises Israel as adequate

Month: FEBRUARY
Day	Year	On this day …
1.
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4.
5.	1936	Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times (movie) released
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7.	1995	Council of Europe adopts telecommunications data recommendation
8.	1849	Prince Albert v Strange: Court case about Queen Victoria’s etchings began the development of law of confidence in England
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11.	1847	Thomas Edison born (inventor of phonograph)
12.	2008	Guja v Moldova case (ECHR) upheld public employee whistleblowing to reveal wrongdoing in the public interest
13.	1997	Council of Europe adopts medical data recommendation
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16.	2012	OECD adopts recommendation on protecting children online
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18.	1910 2013	Samuel Warren (co-author: Right to Privacy, 1890) commits suicide Alan Westin (author of Privacy and Freedom, 1960) dies
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23.	1999 2002	Council of Europe adopts privacy on the internet recommendation The Commission for Personal Data Protection of the Republic of Bulgaria is established
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25.	2016	Japan joins APEC CBPRs
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27.	2008	German Court gives “Right to the guarantee of confidentiality/integrity of IT systems” constitutional status
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29.

Month: MARCH
Day	Year	On this day …
1.	2006	APEC Privacy Symposium on E-Govt. & E-Comm. in Vietnam
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3.	1847	Alexander Graham Bell born (patented first practical telephone)
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10.	2010	Global Privacy Enforcement Network launched
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13.	2003	APEC Chiang Rai conference charts a path for APEC privacy
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15.	1898	Williams Prosser born (author of famous 1960 privacy article
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22.	1972 1973	SCOTUS Eisenstadt v Baird contraceptives ruling SCOTUS Roe v Wade abortion ruling
23.	1976 1976 2006	UN ICCPR comes into force First protocol to ICCPR comes into force The Lives of Others (movie) released (Das Leben der Andeven)
24.	2006 2015	OECD adopts e-commerce consumer protection recommendation UN HRC resolves to appoint a special rapporteur on privacy
25.	2004	NZ Court of Appeal Hosking v Runting judgment recognises privacy tort
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27.	1763 1997	William Pitt’s famous speech ‘The poorest man in his cottage may bid defiance to the forces of the Crown…” OECD adopts Guidelines for Cryptography Policy
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31.	1994	Toonen v Australia: UN Human Rights Committee decision

Month: APRIL
Day	Year	On this day …
1.	2015	CoE Recommendation on the processing of personal data in the context of employment
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4.	2012 2012	Council of Europe adopts social networking recommendation CoE Recommendation on the protection of human rights with regard to search engines
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6.	2001	Right to data protection enshrined in Greek Constitution
7.	1999	First Annual United States Big Brother Awards
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10.	1997	Greek law on protection of individuals with regard to processing of personal data came into force
11.	1977 1985	OECD adopts consumer credit recommendation OECD adopts Ministerial Declaration on TBDF
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13.	2006	Adoption of OECD adopts recommendation on spam law enforcement
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15.	2015	Canada joins APEC CBPRs
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19.		ICDPPC ExCo Meeting, Washington DC
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29.	2014	ECtHR L.H. Case : Protection of medical data are necessary to ensure privacy
30.

Month: MAY
Day	Year	On this day …
1.
2.	1948	American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man adopted in Bogota, Colombia
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4.	2000	ECtHR Rotaru Case : Storage/use of personal data held by intelligence services without possibility of refuting accuracy violate article 8
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8.	1998	South African court strikes down Apartheid era immorality laws against sodomy & ‘men at a party’ sex
9.	2009	WADA adopts International Standard for Protection of Privacy
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13.	2014	ECJ Google v AEPD case recognises EU ‘Right to be Forgotten’
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17.	2010	UN HRC releases good practices on legal & institutional frameworks for intelligence services & their oversight
18.	1977	Senator Ted Kennedy introduces Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Bill
19.	1977	Nova Scotia’s FOI Act enacted
20.	2013	Edward Snowden flies to Hong Kong
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23.	2001	Commission for Personal Data Protection of Bulgaria is established
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Month: JUNE
Day	Year	On this day …
1.	2005 2013	1st Assistance Seminar held to implement APEC Privacy Framework (HK) Nova Scotia’s Personal Health Information Act came into force
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4.	1928	Louis Brandeis dissent in SCOTUS OImstead wiretap case
5.	1991 1998	Phil Zimmerman releases ‘Pretty Good Privacy ‘ The Truman Show opens in cinemas
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7.	1965	SCOTUS Griswold v CT case recognises right to marital privacy
8.	1949 1971	‘1984’ published Willi Birkelbach appointed 1st Data Protection Commissioner in the world in Hessen, Germany
9.	2013	Edwards Snowden reveals himself as source of leak of NSA documents
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11.	2001	SCOTUS Kyllo case on thermal imaging searches
12.	2007 1967	OECD adopts cross-border privacy enforcement recommendation SCOTUS Loving v VA case overturns interracial marriage ban
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17.	1972 2016	Break in at the Watergate Hotel Mauritius accedes to CoE Convention 108
18.	2008	OECD adopts Declaration on the Future of the Internet Economy (Seoul)
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23.	2016	OECD Ministerial Declaration on the Digital Economy (Cancun)
24.	2014 2004	African Union adopts Convention on Cyber Security & Data Protection ECtHR Van Hannover case: State obligation to protect privacy, even for photos of public figures in public spaces
25.	1903	Eric Blair born in Motihari India
26.	2003 2015 2000	SCOTUS: Lawrence v Texas ruling US SCOTUS case of Obergefell v Hodges Announcement of completion of 1st survey of entire human genome
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28.	1935 2006	Nazi state toughens Paragraph 175 of the German penal code criminalising Greek law on protection of personal data and privacy in electronic communications sector enacted
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30.	1990 2003	Australian Privacy Commissioner enforces new spent convictions law European Commission decision recognises Argentina as adequate

Month: JULY
Day	Year	On this day …
1.	1949 2004	South Africa enacts Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act Council of Europe Protocol 181 came into force
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4.	1966	President Johnson signs US Freedom of Information Act
5.	1996	Birth of Dolly the Sheep, 1st mammal cloned from an adult cell
6.	1994 2011	Nova Scotia’s 1st information and privacy commissioner appointed (initially part-time) Uruguay invited to accede to Council of Europe Convention 108
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9.	1868	14th Amendment to US Constitution ratified guaranteeing due process
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11.	2013	OECD amends its 1980 Privacy Guidelines
12.	1854	George Eastman born (popularised low cost photograph)
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15.	2010	Hong Kong Octopus card company revealed to have been selling customer data
16.	2010	APEC launches Cross-border Privacy Enforcement Arrangement (CPEA)
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18.	1989	Rebecca Schaeffer shot by stalker (an origin of US Drivers Privacy Protection Act)
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20.	1994	Greek law on protection of freedom of correspondence and communication enacted
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26.	2000 2000	European Commission decision recognises US Safe Harbour as adequate European Commission decision recognises Switzerland as adequate
27.	2006 2016	Adoption of the Russian Federation of Federal law on Personal Data Bermuda’s Personal Information Protection Act enacted
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31.	2012	USA becomes 1st participant in APEC CBPRs

Month: AUGUST
Day	Year	On this day …
1.	2013	Entry into force of Convention 108 in respect of Uruguay, first non-European Party
2.	1984	ECtHR Malone case: A State sentenced for intercepting communications without it being provided for by law
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9.	1978	The first data protection regulation I Norway is adopted. The personal registry act is adopted
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17.	1945	George Orwell publishes ‘Animal Farm’
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19.	2004	Google’s initial public offering of shares
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21.	2012	European Commission decision recognises Uruguay as adequate
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26.	2007	APPA Privacy Awareness Week celebrated for 1^st time across Asia Pacific
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31.	1987	Australian Privacy Foundation launched in Kings Cross, Sydney

Month: SEPTEMBER
Day	Year	On this day …
1.
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4.	1957	Wolfenden Report published (UK)
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6.	1978	ECtHR Klass case: States must be limited to what is necessary and proportionate in surveillance
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9.	1991 1976	Council of Europe recommendation on communication of public data Wanganui Computer Centre Act 1976 establishes New Zealand’s 1st Privacy Commissioner
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11.	1900	Council of Europe adopts payment data recommendation
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15.	1935	Nuremberg laws enacted by German Reichstag
16.	1999	First broadcast of Big Brother (TV)
17.	1987	Council of Europe adopts recommendation on police data
18.	2002	Council of Europe adopts insurance data recommendation
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21.	2010	GPEN launches privacy enforcement cooperation website
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23.	1980	OECD adopts Guidelines on Protection of Privacy & TBDF
24.	1991 2007	Credit reporting controls in Australian privacy law start Creation of Association Francophone Des Autorities De Protection Des Donnees Personnelles
25.	1988	City Paper publishes “The Bork Tapes” leading to US Video Privacy Protection Act
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30.	1997	Council of Europe adopts statistical data recommendation

Month: OCTOBER
Day	Year	On this day …
1.	1985	Council of Europe Convention 108 came into force
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5.	1941	Louis Brandeis dies
6.	2015	European Court of Justice Schrems decision
7.	1970 1996	1st data protection law in the world adopted in Hessen, Germany ILO experts group adopts draft Code of Practice on Workers’ Data
8.	1998	OECD Declaration: Protection of Privacy on Global Networks (Ottawa)
9.	2008	Establishment of strengthened Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files
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11.	2004	27 countries met in London to discuss international spam enforcement cooperation
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18.	1988	US Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act enacted
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24.	1945 1995	UN officially born with ratification of its charter European Union adopts Data Protection Directive
25.	1985	Council of Europe adopts direct marketing recommendation
26.	1998 2001 2015	First Big Brother Awards ceremony (London) USA PATRIOT Act signed into law Launch of GPEN Alert for secure information sharing in cross-border privacy enforcement coordination
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Month: NOVEMBER
Day	Year	On this day …
1.
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3.	2011 1982	1^st meeting of ICDPPC Executive Committee Arrangement agreed for appropriate independent data protection oversight of INTERPOL’s archives
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5.	2009	ICDPPC adopts International Standards on Protection of Personal Data & Privacy (Madrid Resolution)
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8.	2001	Council of Europe additional protocol 181 opened for signature
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11.	1762 1997	The unlawful raid on John Entick’s house (Entick v Carrington) UNESCO Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights adopted
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13.	1856	Louis Brandeis born
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16.	2005	APEC Ministers approve APEC Privacy Framework
17.	2005 2016	Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities Forum adopts a citation system for privacy case notes APEC Ministers endorse updates to 2005 Privacy Framework
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22.	1969	American Convention on Human Rights adopted in San José, Costa Rica
23.	2001 2010	Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention opened for signature Council of Europe adopts profiling recommendation
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Month: DECEMBER
Day	Year	On this day …
1.	2014	Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities Forum adopts an APPA Secondment Framework
2.	1766	Parliament of Sweden issues Freedom of Press Act
3.
4.	1948 2015	George Orwell sends final manuscript of ‘1984’ to publisher ECtHR Zakharov Case : Mobile phone user complain of a system of secret surveillance without effective domestic remedies
5.	2011	ISO publishes ISO29100 an international standard setting out a privacy framework
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8.	2008 2011	ECtHR S. and Marper case: Mere storage of data (soft surveillance) may violate art 8 ECHR Death of Zelman Cowen: author influential 1969 Australian radio lectures ‘The Private Man’
9.
10.	1948	UN adopts Universal Declaration of Human Rights
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14.	1990	UN General Assembly adopts guidelines on computerised data files
15.	1791 1890 1983	US Bill of Rights ratified The Right to Privacy by Warren & Brandeis published in the Harvard Business Review Volkszählungsurteil German Constitutional Court ruling establishing “informational self-determination” constitutional right
16.	1966 1966	UN General Assembly adopts ICCPR UN adopts 1st optional protocol to ICCPR
17.	1982	New Zealand’s Official Secrets act repealed with enactment of Freedom of Information Law
18.	1967 2014	SCOTUS Katz v US wiretap ruling UN General Assembly adopts resolution on right to privacy in digital age
19.	2012 2012	European Commission decision recognises New Zealand as adequate ASEAN Human Rights declaration includes both privacy and personal data protection
20.	1990 2001	First website published European Commission decision recognises Canada as adequate
21.	1967 2001	Pierre Trudeau “No place for the state in the nation’s bedrooms” speech (Canada) Australian privacy law extended to private sector
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31.	1974	US Privacy Act signed by President Ford