Although the concept of personal data protection began in Europe in the early 1970s, data protection legislation has been adopted in many countries. In Europe there is a wide divergence of policies between members of the EC, non-EC members and the new democracies of Eastern Europe. This volume explains these differences and also, uniquely, focuses on the abuses of personal data in the developing nations of Latin America, Asia and Africa. It also includes the latest national and international laws, initiatives and guidelines on personal data protection. It is the first reference work to combine these various documents in a single volume source.