Viviane Reding Takes on US Over Data Privacy Rights in Anti-Terror Campaign
This month the EU’s 27 justice ministers gave the go-ahead to the European commission to begin negotiations with Washington over a “personal data protection agreement” when co-operating to fight terrorism or crime. Brussels is demanding a high level of protection of personal data such as passenger records and financial information when data are transferred as part of transatlantic co-operation.
The EU wants citizens to get the right to rectify and delete data; it also demands “a more proportionate” use of data by public authorities, and “effective judicial review”, meaning the right to go to court to seek redress over data use. Reding is hoping to win agreement with her opposite numbers on limiting the time that data can be retained, and on a strict ban on transfer of data to other countries.
The commissioner is also insisting the US hires an independent data protection supervisor to oversee the authorities’ use of citizen data, as exists in Europe.
One EU source claimed the Americans just wanted to get their hands on the data but were “not at all interested in [an] over-arching framework agreement that sets out what sort of principles govern this”.