[Advocacy Advisors] EU Data Protection Reform / "Right to be forgotten" softened

[Jan Engelmann]

Dear all,

I wish you a Happy New Year (though it's not so new anymore)!

This week I had the opportunity to attend an event in Brussels which gained
quite some media attention. Jan-Philipp Albrecht, a German Green MEP and
rapporteur for for the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee
(LIBE) of the European Parliament, presented his amendments to the Data
Protection Regulation Draft proposed by the European Commission:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/libe/pr/922/922387/922387en.pdf

This enormous text has also been stripped down to ten key points:

http://www.janalbrecht.eu/uploads/pics/data_protection_English.pdf

The Regulation shall replace the pre-Internet Data Protection Directive
(1995). With this reform the EU is trying "to establish a comprehensive
approach to data protection, to strengthen online privacy rights and to do
away with the current fragmentation of 27 different national data
protection laws which are costly and burdensome for businesses operating on
Europe's single market". For further details, see yesterday's press release
by the European Commission:

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-4_en.htm?locale=en

The commission's proposal was facing the "biggest lobbying campaign in the
world ever", as Joe McNamee, CEO of European Digital Rights (EDRI) has put
it. Obviously, the strenghtening of users' rights and the far stricter
rules for data controllers run counter the interests of companies like
Facebook and Google. If personal data of individuals in the EU is handled,
the Regulation will also apply to companies which are not established in
the Union. To put it bluntly: It could even affect charities in San
Francisco.

Quite worrysome for the Wikimedia movement was the Commission's initial
proposal for a "right to be forgotten" (Art. 17), a general guarantee for
data subjects to get their personal data erased, if they didn't give their
explicit permission. Lacking a clear-cut, consensual definition of
"personal data", even the birth date of a Hollywood actress could be
handled like that.

For a volunteer project like Wikpedia based on free licenses, the
"reasonable steps" to inform even third parties about personal data which
has to be erased (foreseen in Art.17.2), didn't seem realistic at all.
Besides, the exemptions or derogations from that rule (laid out in Art. 80)
were restricted to the processing of personal data for journalistic or
artistic purposes only.

According to the rapporteur's amendments, freedom of expression must be far
better balanced against the foggy "right to be forgotten". Now, Art. 80 (in
connection with the new Art. 17.2a) postulates the accordance with the
Europan Convention of Human Rights which makes sure that the conflicting
goods (privacy vs. information) are carefully weighed.

Of course, the political gaming is just about to begin. Various Commitees
and shadow rapporteurs will have their say in order to draft a compromise.
Besides, the whole time line for the legislative process (so-called
"Trilogue" between Commission, Parliament and Council) is tough. Most of
the European parties don't have any interest in making data protection a
major topic during the next EU election campaign in 2014. Together with
lokal Wikipedians in Brussels and NGO collegues, we will keep an eye on the
further process.

Best wishes to all,

Jan

-- 
Jan Engelmann
Leiter Politik & Gesellschaft
-------------------------------------
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.
Obentrautstr. 72
10963 Berlin

Telefon 030 - 219 158 26-0
www.wikimedia.de

Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen
Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
http://spenden.wikimedia.de/

**** Helfen Sie mit, dass WIKIPEDIA von der UNESCO als erstes digitales
Weltkulturerbe anerkannt wird. Unterzeichnen Sie die Online-Petition!
http://wikipedia.de ****

Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 Nz. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.
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