European data protection officials will meet Thursday with representatives of search engine companies like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo to discuss implementation of the “right to be forgotten” ruling, said a government new release and industry representatives. The Article 29 Data Protection Working Party -- officials from various European Union data protection agencies -- decided to call the meeting after a July 15 gathering to discuss guidelines for companies to comply with the European Court of Justice’s “right to be forgotten ruling,” said a July 17 release from the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés, France’s data protection agency (http://bit.ly/1lcSr0S). “This discussion led, amongst other things, to the highlighting that in order to effectively exercise this right, it is necessary for individuals to understand thoroughly the precise reasons a search engine, subject to European Union law, can legally refuse this right,” the agency said. The agency said the meeting with search engine company representatives will allow them to give input on the working party’s compliance guidelines, slated for a fall release. Microsoft and Yahoo confirmed they would have representatives at Thursday’s meeting, while Google said it would comply with privacy officials without adding any specifics. Google and Microsoft have published Web forms for individuals to requests third-party links be removed from searches, while Yahoo is still working on its own compliance strategy, it said Friday.

The British Video Association will merge “back office functions" with the Industry Trust for IP Awareness “to focus greater resource on shared challenges,” the London-based groups said Thursday. Each group will keep its “core” identities, the BVA to promote sales of home entertainment content, the Industry Trust to run consumer education campaigns to thwart video piracy, the groups said. The merger is intended to keep both organizations “on a sustainable path in a rapidly changing market,” they said. Liz Bales, director general of the Industry Trust, will be CEO for both bodies, they said. Lavinia Carey, who recently resigned as the BVA’s director general, will be a “consultant lobbyist” for both groups, they said.

E-commerce site Etsy joined the Internet Association, IA said in a Wednesday news release (http://bit.ly/Wb6puD). IA includes companies like Amazon, AOL, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Netflix, reddit, Twitter and Yahoo. “The Internet Association understands that the promise of the Internet lies in the power to harness user communities to achieve a broader economic impact,” said Etsy Public Policy Director Althea Erickson. IA has been critical of proposed FCC net neutrality rules (CD July 15 p1).

The National Governors Association urged improved coordination between the federal government and states on cybersecurity matters, releasing a framework Tuesday for states, territories and federal agencies to cooperate on cyberattack response, cyberthreat information sharing and cybersecurity protection (http://bit.ly/1p9UfKE). The NGA said its Council of Governors, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security jointly agreed to the plan last week at the NGA’s meeting in Nashville (http://bit.ly/1t0yTCa). The framework charges all parties to develop and clarify their cybersecurity policies to allow a “national approach” to preventing and responding to cyberincidents, including creating a national cyberincident response framework. DOD will work with the Council of Governors to revise DOD’s policy regarding states’ use of National Guard cyber-related resources. The framework asks state and local governments to create real-time reporting and analysis programs that are similar to the federal government’s Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program. DHS will work with state and local governments to improve the timeliness of shared cyberinformation. The framework’s release follows the NGA’s 2012 creation of its Resource Center for State Cybersecurity and the Council of Governors’ 2011 release of a joint action plan for responding to domestic emergencies.

Hulu said it signed a deal to be the “exclusive streaming home” of South Park. The multiyear licensing deal with South Park Digital Studios means all seasons of the show will be available on Hulu’s subscription service, Hulu Plus, and also online for free on the website until season 18 begins Sept. 24. That’s according to a Saturday news release (http://bit.ly/1nnZ4NW) from Hulu, the broadcast- and cable-TV video sharing site with owners that include Comcast’s NBCUniversal, Disney and 21st Century Fox (CD Feb 21 p8).

Twenty-nine percent of respondents to a Radius Global Market Research (GMR) survey felt there wasn’t an industry leader protecting their online data, said a company release Thursday. Radius GMR interviewed a “nationally representative sample” of 1,008 Americans in December 2013, said the report. Twenty-seven percent of respondents said financial services companies were doing the “best job” protecting online data; 14 percent said e-commerce sites were the best, it said. “Those surveyed felt that no company in any industry is doing it well,” said Radius GMR Director Jamie Myers in the release. “Consumers made it clear that a perception of poor security practices is reason enough to stop doing business with a brand,” he said.

Google Fiber is a potential disruptor in the broadband space but becoming such “will take time and a lot can happen between now and then,” Wells Fargo analysts said in an email to investors summarizing their visit to the Google Fiber Space in Kansas City, Missouri. Wells Fargo believes Google Fiber’s next target markets will mainly be “down south,” rather than in areas where Comcast and Time Warner Cable already have a major presence, the analysts said. “The roll-out is complex and time-consuming; and the current target markets are not of concern,” Wells Fargo said. “We do realize this could change and believe Google Fiber has the potential” to become a disruptor, but “this is more a ’something to watch’ and nothing we can accurately predict.” Google Fiber is also testing other areas like the small-business segment and is having internal discussions about Wi-Fi, but is unlikely to target home security because of a fragmented market and Google’s “lack of a phone product,” Wells Fargo said.

Organizations are increasingly experiencing cyberattacks, but very few believe they're prepared to defend themselves, said a study released Wednesday by information technology security association ISACA (http://bit.ly/1mJevFY). One in five organizations polled reported having faced an advanced persistent threat (APT) attack, but only 15 percent said they're “very prepared” for such an attack. Of companies that have been attacked, one-third said they knew the source of the attack. Companies are primarily using firewalls, access lists and anti-virus software to defend against attacks, said the study. Almost 40 percent of organizations aren’t doing user security training, ISACA said. ISACA polled 1,220 organizations in the first quarter of 2014 via email and social media, said a spokeswoman.

ICANN appointed Kuo-Wei Wu as its board’s liaison for the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) related Coordination Group, said an organization news release (http://bit.ly/1pZTnxm) Tuesday. Wu formerly was chairman of the “defunct” Board IANA Committee, it said. ICANN Vice President-IANA & Technical Operations Elise Gerich was appointed as the “staff expert” to the group, it said. The group may have trouble reaching agreement on Domain Name System issues, said Milton Mueller, Syracuse University information studies professor and one of three Generic Names Supporting Organization representatives on the group (CD July 8 p6).

Reports of the FBI and NSA using foreign surveillance programs to watch Muslim-Americans are “sadly reminiscent of government surveillance of civil rights activists and anti-war protesters in the 1960s and 70s,” said Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Staff Attorney Mark Rumold in a Wednesday blog post (http://bit.ly/1neAUtC). The Intercept reported Tuesday that documents provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden showed the U.S. government was using its surveillance programs intended to target foreigners to covertly monitor the emails of prominent Muslim-Americans, including attorneys, professors, a civil rights advocate and a former government official (http://bit.ly/1k43Vn7). The government has previously acknowledged its Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702-authorized surveillance programs incidentally sweep in information about American residents, and a recent Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) said the government’s minimization procedures were mostly sufficient to protect the constitutional rights of Americans (CD July 3 p5). The new revelations show this isn’t the case, EFF’s Rumold said. “The government’s surveillance of prominent Muslim activists based on constitutionally protected activity fails the test of a democratic society that values freedom of expression, religious freedom, and adherence to the rule of law.” EFF represents the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the founder of which, Nihad Awad, was one of those the government is reportedly monitoring. This type of surveillance is a “stain on our nation,” said Rumold, saying the revelations emphasize the need for legislation to alter the government’s surveillance programs. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and Department of Justice said jointly Wednesday that it’s “entirely false that U.S. intelligence agencies conduct electronic surveillance of political, religious or activist figures solely because they disagree with public policies or criticize the government, or for exercising constitutional rights.” Without addressing any of the individuals mentioned in the report, the agencies said that “with limited exceptions (for example, in an emergency), our intelligence agencies must have a court order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to target any U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for electronic surveillance.” If the court finds an individual “is an agent of a foreign power under this rigorous standard,” that person “is not exempted just because of his or her occupation,” the agencies said.