Data Protection: EU, Japan edge towards data protection dealbusiness and politics

Following the July conclusion of EU-Japan talks on personal data flows, the Commission launched Thursday a procedure for adoption of its decision on data protection adequacy between the two blocs.

"We are creating the world's largest area of safe data flows," said the EU's Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova, as she briefed the College of Commissioners on next steps and the Commission published the draft adequacy decision and the related documents.

This includes additional safeguards that Japan will apply to EU personal data transferred to Japan, as well as commitments regarding access to personal data by Japanese public authorities for law enforcement and national security purposes, guaranteeing that their level of data protection is adequate to that of the EU's. Japan is going through a similar process to recognise the EU's data protection framework.

Read more : EU, Japan edge towards data protection deal — EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics

EU Data Regulations: Five Things to Know About the New EU General Data Protection Regulation - by Don Aplin

 The European Union has finally gotten around to updating its seriously old and outdated framework privacy regime. The old EU Data Protection Directive has been around since 1995—when Clinton was president … the dude, not his wife—the lady who might be living in the White House next year.

The new EU Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is designed to bring things into the digital world and comes into effect in May 2018.

But you don’t have to read all of the 261-page regulation. In a recent video segment, Bloomberg BNA Privacy & Security News Managing Editor Don Aplin points to five things you should know about the GDPR.

First, it sets up one privacy and data security law for the EU rather than separate laws in the 28 EU member states—27 if the U.K. follows through on its Brexit divorce from the bloc.

Second, the GDPR has a right to be forgotten provision to allow individuals in the EU to ask search engines like Google to remove search links to stuff where privacy outweighs the public’s right to know.

Third, if a company gets busted for violating the GDPR they may face really big fines of up to 4 percent of their worldwide revenue.

Fourth, the two year delay until the GDPR takes effect gives companies a chance to get their privacy policies and practices into line before facing any risk of those mega-fines.

Fifth, even though the EU is moving to a one major privacy law regime, there will still be lots of room for interpretation. So privacy and data security attorneys will definitely be busy for the foreseeable future.

Read more: Five Things to Know About the New EU General Data Protection Regulation | Bloomberg BNA

European Data Protection: EU Ministers upset businesses with new data protection rules

The European Union's interior and justice ministers agreed on Friday to grant more powers to regulators to enforce a new data protection law, upsetting businesses who hoped the power would instead be devolved to the regulators in each individual country.

Initially, the new EU law would have established a "one-stop-shop" mechanism, meaning that a business operating across the whole 28-nation bloc would only have to deal with one protection authority - in the country where it has its headquarters or European base, even if the issue affected citizens in another EU country.

However, this upset some countries which do not what their national authorities to lose all jurisdiction over big technology companies like Apple and Facebook, which are based in Ireland. In the past, Ireland has been accused of going soft on large multinationals in order to remain an attractive place for doing business, something Dublin has denied.

Under pressure from the concern nations, the EU ministers agreed that henceforth if one country's authority is "concerned," they can appeal any ruling to an as-yet-uncreated board of all 28 regulators who could then come to a binding decision.

Read more: EU Ministers upset businesses with new data protection rules | News | DW.DE | 13.03.2015

European Communication Network: Merkel, Hollande to discuss European communication network avoiding U.S.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday she would talk to French President Francois Hollande about building up a European communication network to avoid emails and other data passing through the United States.

Merkel, who visits France on Wednesday, has been pushing for greater data protection in Europe following reports last year about mass surveillance in Germany and elsewhere by the U.S. National Security Agency. Even Merkel's cell phone was reportedly monitored by American spies.

Merkel said in her weekly podcast that she disapproved of companies such as Google and Facebook basing their operations in countries with low levels of data protection while being active in countries such as Germany with high data protection.

Read more Merkel, Hollande to discuss European communication network avoiding U.S. | Reuters

EU-US to resume free trade talks despite NSA tension - data protection and online privacy rights questions major stumbling block - by Juergen Baetz

The United States and the European Union will resume free trade negotiations next week despite heightened tension between the two over the alleged spying activities of the U.S. National Security Agency.

The second round of the trans-Atlantic talks will have to make up ground lost when a previous session was canceled because of the partial shutdown of the U.S. government.

The European Commission, the 28-nation bloc's executive arm, said Monday that the talks will go ahead and that next week's round in Brussels is set to focus on services, investment, energy and regulatory issues.

A broad EU-US trade deal could provide a boost to growth and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic by eliminating tariffs and regulatory barriers that are hampering business. The trade volume in goods and services between the two economies — representing almost half of global output — totaled 800 billion euros ($1.08 trillion) last year.

While data protection and online privacy rights aren't officially on the agenda of the talks, top EU officials have made it clear that they will push for tougher rules in the U.S. in parallel to the trade negotiations.

Both sides had hoped initially to reach a broad agreement by the end of 2014, but that schedule is now considered highly ambitious as significant hurdles remain on issues like agriculture, industry regulation and other fields.

Read more: BRUSSELS: EU, US to resume free trade talks despite tension | Business | NewsObserver.com

The EU Commission new data protection proposed rules for the digital age

Current EU data protection rules date back to 1995. In those days the internet was virtually unknown to the majority of Europeans.

Today, 250 million people use the internet daily in Europe. Just think how that has changed our personal data landscape through the explosion of e-commerce, social networks, on-line games and cloud computing.

The European Commission has therefore adopted proposals for updating data protection rules to meet the challenges of the digital age. In particular, proposals which will strengthen the protection of EU citizens personal data online.

These proposals will now be debated by the Council and the European Parliament before they can become law. In the meantime, for some additional information also watch the short video "Take Control Of Your Personal Data" or download the EU Commission Data Protection Brochure

Click here for further information from the European Commission - Justice