The changes would allow for a pan-European framework for privacy and the handling of European citizens’ data, instead of the current scenario where data privacy is regulated by watchdogs in the country of operation within Europe such as Ireland.
The changes were put forward by the European commission in 2012 and form a crucial step towards a single digital union. The European parliament filed its agreement in principle over a year ago, but the Council of the European Union, where each country’s government has representation, has struggled to come to agreement.
The EC put forward new regulation that would toughen European law, which would in turn toughen data privacy laws in European nation states. But the proposal could also see the formation of a single nominated authority that could rule on large or politically contentious data protection issues.
Under scrutiny are proposals regarding: unambiguous consent for any data collection, such as tracking for adverts; limits to the ability to use data for purposes other than those for which it was collected, such as profiling; and a strengthened right to be forgotten.
The Council of the European Union has agreed new fines for breaches of EU privacy and data protection law could be up to EUR 1 million or 2% of the company’s global annual turnover. The European parliament would have them as high as EUR 100 million or 5% of turnover.
The first Trilogue meeting between the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU will take place on June 24 2015. The three institutions intend to agree on a roadmap towards the finalisation of the reform in 2015.
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