Data nightmares?

The EU is struggling to keep pace with methods of collecting and safeguarding personal data, writes Judith Crosbie.

Data protection has become one of the most controversial topics for EU lawmakers. The legislative landscape has been changed by developments in technology, changes to how companies store information and new ideas on law enforcement based on mass information collection and storage.

Demands from third countries for access to personal data, attempts to set down rules on how law enforcement bodies within the EU store individuals’ information and moves to increase the safeguards on digital data are among the tasks that the European Commission and the EU member states have before them in this area.

Data protection laws in the EU are generally of a high standard compared to the rest of the world, but companies see difficulties in enforcing those standards, while civil liberties groups fear that they will be eroded. European countries are generally well equipped to deal with current standards but new methods of collecting data, with, for example, huge databases, biometric data collection and genetic testing mean that this is an ever-evolving area.

Peter Hustinx, the European data protection supervisor, who advises on EU legislation, says that individuals must be aware of their rights. "If everyone is naive about this and doesn’t care, then we do not have sufficient safeguards because we are crucial in this whole picture. We have rights and we should use them. We should be careful: not overly concerned, not paranoid," he says.

The EU is struggling to keep pace with methods of collecting and safeguarding personal data, writes Judith Crosbie.