Policy Observatory
EFF published a statement saying that introducing information sharing proposals with broad liability protections, increasing penalties under the already draconian Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and potentially decreasing the protections granted to consumers under state data breach law are both unnecessary and unwelcome.
More than 20 digital and civil rights organizations have endorsed a joint statement calling on world leaders political leaders not to expand surveillance measures in wake of the Charlie Hebdo tragedy.
On September 16, the European Commission has reiterated in a statement that the decision of whether or not to introduce national data retention laws is a national decision and that it is not going to start a court action against the German draft data retention law.
The European Commission is neither opposing, nor advocating the introduction of national data retention laws. Therefore, the Commission is not coming forward with any new initiatives on Data Retention. In the absence of EU rules, Member States are free to maintain their current data retention systems or set up new ones, providing of course they comply with basic principles under EU law, such as those contained in the ePrivacy Directive.
Following the announcement on the 6th October, the Article 29 Working Party issued a statement regarding the Safe Harbor Decision (Schrems v. Data Protection Commissioner (C-362- 14). Article 29 Working Party calls for a robust, collective and common position on the implementation of the judgment urging Member States and the European institutions to open discussions with US authorities in order to find political, legal and technical solutions enabling data transfers to the territory of the United States that respect fundamental rights.
Read the statement from the Article 29 Working Party.
A group of U.S. and EU digital rights organizations and consumer NGOs have issued a statement calling for a “meaningful legal framework” to protect fundamental privacy rights in the digital era.
The statement comes as a critical response to the publication earlier this month of the Bridges report: a joint project between U.S. and EU academics — and including the involvement of the Dutch data protection agency — advocating for continued reliance on existing laws coupled with industry self-regulation as a middle-of-the-road approach to safeguarding privacy rights.
On Monday, October 26, 2015, EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Věra Jourová, gave a speech before the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on the recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union that invalidated the European Commission’s Safe Harbor Decision. The EU Commissioner welcomed the Article 29 Working Party’s statement and, in particular, its support for a new Safe Harbor framework by January 31, 2016. However, the EU Commissioner called for more clarity in the meantime. Accordingly, she announced that the European Commission will soon issue an explanatory document on the consequences of the CJEU’s ruling to provide guidance for businesses on international data transfers.