EU Looks For Stronger Data Protection Rules

by Ulrika Lomas, LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

01 May 2012

The European Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding and the German Federal Minister for Consumer Protection, Ilse Aigner, have held a meeting in Brussels to discuss the way forward for strengthening the data protection rules in the European Union (EU), which currently date back to 1995.

The European Commission (EC) is due to come forward with proposals to reform the 1995 Data Protection Directive by the end of January 2012, and the major modernization of the rules is expected to have profound effects on how data privacy issues are treated in the EU.

The legislation to be put forward by the EC should strengthen the rights of individuals and businesses through common, harmonized rules to protect their personal data, while also removing red tape to ensure the free flow of data within the EU’s Single Market, particularly by way of the Internet.

The strategy set out by the EC therefore proposes how to modernize the EU data protection rules through a series of key goals, such as strengthening individuals' rights so that the collection and use of personal data is limited to the minimum necessary. Under the proposals, individuals would be clearly informed in a transparent way on how, why, by whom, and for how long their data is collected and used.

The EC is also proposing that the administrative burden on companies would be reduced and a level-playing field produced by eliminating current differences in implementing EU data protection rules between member states. Improved cooperation and coordination is said to be needed, to ensure a more consistent application of data protection rules across the EU.

Following their meeting, Reding and Aigner reaffirmed their intention to work hand-in-hand to achieve a robust data protection framework for Europe's internal market. They reaffirmed that "data protection is highly relevant for consumers and businesses regardless of borders. It therefore needs to be addressed at the European level, through high, common European standards with global appeal.”

“We both believe,” they added, “that as a result of this reform process, consumers in Europe should see their data strongly protected, regardless of the EU country they live in and regardless of the country in which companies, which process their personal data, are established. We both believe that companies who direct their services to European consumers should be subject to EU data protection laws.”

“Otherwise, they should not be able to do business on our internal market,” they concluded. “This also applies to social networks with users in the EU. We have to make sure that they comply with EU law and that EU law is enforced, even if it is based in a third country and even if its data are stored in a 'cloud'.”

Reding and Aigner stressed that EU law should require that consumers give their explicit consent before their data are used. And consumers generally should have the right to delete their data at any time, especially the data they post on the Internet themselves. “We will work closely together to make sure that the modernization of the EU’s data protection rules addresses these issues,” they stated, “and that the EU’s data privacy principles are turned into a reality for consumers and businesses everywhere in Europe."

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