European data protection debated
The European Union moved closer to establishing a coherent legal framework for data protection, and to establishing a cooperation agreement with the United States, following a hearing at the European Parliament in Brussels on 22 and 23 February 2000. The move is intended to strengthen the development of Europe's e-commerce market, by providing safeguards and guarantees for consumers passing on confidential information over the Internet. During the meeting, the different legal and technological aspects of the protection of privacy were discussed, and moves were made towards establishing a degree of harmonisation of existing rules both within the EU and beyond. The US and EU reported significant progress towards finding a political agreement on facilitating transfers of data between them, after eight hours of talks between EU internal market Director-General John Mogg, and David Aaron, the US Commerce Under Secretary. The EU's dispute with the US arose when the EU passed a data protection directive which included a clause stating data could not be transferred to other countries without adequate levels of protection. Since 1998, the EU and US have been looking for a 'safe harbour' - a set of principles that US companies would voluntarily sign up to, and subsequently be bound to, that would satisfy the Commission's data protection directive. Both sides reported a breakthrough in the issue of enforcement, which they said should make it possible to reach a political agreement in time for the March deadline when the deal will be put before a committee of EU member countries. Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein met David Aaron before the talks got underway and told him: 'We want a system that will make it easier for both EU authorities and the companies concerned to transfer personal data to the US and ensure that the data transferred enjoys adequate protection in the US.' Speaking later at the conference, Mr Bolkstein said violations of the right to privacy protection could become increasingly frequent due to technological developments. 'In my opinion, there is a need for adoption at international level of binding standards,' he said, adding that the framework for such negotiations was the World Trade Organisation. During the Parliamentary hearings, Marc Rotenburg, Director of the US Electronic Privacy Information Centre, urged the EU to stick to its guns with the US over data protection rules. He testified to the failure of self-regulation in the United States to adequately protect consumer privacy on the Internet, and vigorously supported a legal framework under the type embodied in the European Data Directive and the adoption of privacy enhancing techniques. 'The Safe Harbour proposal now before the EU threatens the interests of consumers around the globe,' he said. 'It is an assault on the rule of law and the right of privacy.' The hearing, organised by the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs and the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market, touched on several other issues relating to data protection in the EU, including the implementation of a Data Protection Directive. The Council of Europe representative, Mrs Marie-Odile Wiederkehr, proposed that a global convention be drawn up which would include data protection and the protection of human rights in general, guidelines for interpretation, rules for dispute settlement and relations with other conventions. British author Duncan Campbell presented a report claiming that an international surveillance network, code-named Echelon, exists. Operated by the US National Security Agency and the British intelligence service GCHQ, it is alleged that the network is used for industrial espionage as well as military purposes. The report claims the network infringes rights to privacy. The Chair of the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms, Graham Watson, said it would now be for the political groups to decide what further action should be taken on this issue, although in his opinion Campbell's report does not provide sufficient evidence of industrial spying. At the request of the Belgian Chair of the Greens, Paul Lannoye, the Conference of Presidents have decided to include a debate on the Echelon matter on the agenda of the plenary session of 30 March.