EC considers new data protection regulations

The European Commission has adopted a communication with the purpose of identifying the benefits of privacy enhancing technologies (PETs) and laying down the Commission's objectives in this field, to be achieved by a number of specific actions supporting the development of PETs and their use by data controllers and consumers.

The EC believes that ‘the use of PETs can help to design information and communication systems and services in a way that minimises the collection and use of personal data and facilitate compliance with data protection rules. The use of PETs should result in making breaches of some data protection rules more difficult and /or helping to detect them, therefore having a positive impact on consumer trust, in particular in cyberspace, all without losing the functionality of the information system’.

The Commission communication reflects on the benefits of PETs, lays down the Commission's objective to promote these technologies and sets out clear actions to achieve them in the future by supporting the development of PETs and their use by data controllers and by consumers.

In the future the Commission ‘intends to clearly identify the need and technological requirements of PETs and further promote the development of these technologies (in particular through RTD projects and large-scale pilot demonstrations) and their use by industry and public authorities, involving a vast array of actors, including its own services, national authorities, industry and consumers’. The aim is ‘to provide the foundation for user-empowering privacy protection services reconciling legal and technical differences across Europe through public-private partnerships’.

Additionally:

‘To ensure respect for appropriate standards in the protection of personal data through PETs, standardization and coordination of national technical rules on security measures for data processing are envisaged’.

‘The Commission will conduct actions to raise consumers' awareness and investigate the feasibility of an EU-wide system of privacy seals. The objective of such privacy seals would be to allow consumers to easily recognize a certain product as ensuring or enhancing the respect of the data protection rules, in particular by incorporating the appropriate PETs.’

•Date: 3rd May 2007 • Region: W.Europe/UK •Type: Article •Topic: ISM
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