• Following its recent decision to stop automatically redirecting Chinese users to the uncensored version of its site in Hong Kong, Google announced on Friday that its license to operate in China has been renewed. “We are very pleased that the government has renewed our ICP license and we look forward to continuing to provide web search and local products to our users in China.” The tension between Google and China began in January, when Google said it would no longer self-censor its local Chinese search site, Google.cn, and later started directing users to Google.hk.
  • The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to modify its Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act (HIPAA) Privacy, Security, and Enforcement Rules. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, enacted in 2009, requires HHS to strengthen the privacy and security protections for health information. The proposed modifications to the HIPAA Rules include extending the applicability of certain requirements to the business associates of covered entities, establishing new limitations on the use and disclosure of protected health information for marketing and fundraising purposes, prohibiting the sale of protected health information, and expanding individuals’ rights to access their information and restrict disclosures of certain information to health plans. The proposed rules would also strengthen enforcement provisions.