November

"China 's State Administration of Industry and Commerce has released for public comment a draft regulation implementing recent amendments to a consumer protection law that would supplement existing privacy obligations for businesses operating in China. Some of the new modified requirements include the fact that collection of consumer personal information by a business operator would need to be related to its business operations, business operators would need to retain for at least five years proof that they fulfilled their obligations to inform and obtain consent from consumers, and business operators would be prohibited from ""tampering with or destroying"" consumer personal information."

"In what may be the first sector specific law on privacy, the health ministry has roped in the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, to draft a law guaranteeing right to privacy and confidentiality of medical information. The law � tentatively called the Healthcare Data Privacy and Security Act � will devise a comprehensive legal framework for protection of individual health data and its standardisation, and identify the ""ownership"" of that data through the establishment of a national e-health authority and health information exchanges."

The labor ministry in India aims to rework the draft national policy for domestic workers to streamline the process of hiring and avoid harassment by placement employment agencies. Currently, placement agencies charge a certain proportion of the domestic worker's salary every month, more than the one-time fees they charge from the employer for providing such help. According to the Economic Times, India Times, the labor ministry will soon reveal a policy that would make it mandatory for placement agencies to charge a one-time 15-day salary from the domestic help and in turn provide them with social security cover that includes health coverage.