EU Commission looks to get tough on UK data protection
2009-10-30
It seems the European Commission is increasing its pressure on the UK when it comes to the protection of people's information, which may interest those concerned with data breach incidents.
It has moved to the second phase of an infringement proceeding over the country to provide its citizens with the full protection of EU rules on privacy and personal data protection when using electronic communications.
EU telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding called on UK authorities to change national laws to make sure that British people "benefit from the safeguards set out in EU law concerning confidentiality of electronic communications".
She added: "People's privacy and the integrity of their personal data in the digital world is not only an important matter, it is a fundamental right, protected by European law. That is why the commission is vigilant in ensuring that EU rules and rights are put in place.
"Ensuring digital privacy is a key for building trust in the internet."
European laws currently state that countries within the EU need to ensure the confidentiality of people's electronic communications such as email or looking around the internet by stopping unlawful interception and surveillance without the user's consent.
The commission has identified a number of gaps in the current UK rules that govern the confidentiality of electronic communications. It noted that the UK does not have an independent national authority to supervise interception of communications, even though the establishment of such an organisation is required under the ePrivacy and Data Protection Directives.
Current UK law, the EU Commission explained, allows communications to be intercepted when the people concerned have consented to it and when the person doing the intercepting has "reasonable grounds for believing" that approval to do so has been provided. This fails to comply with EU rules that define consent as a "freely given specific and informed indication of a person's wishes".
Recent figures from Software AG revealed that UK businesses reported 356 data breach incidents to the Information Commissioner's Office between November 2008 and September 2009.
Read more security news.
