EP green lights new European law on data protection

At the end of four years of negotiations, the European Parliament (EP), meeting for a plenary session here, voted Thursday in favor of the new European law on data protection in the digital era.

"Thanks to this new general regulation, to have a high and uniform level of data protection throughout the EU is a reality. It is a victory for the parliament and a European 'yes' proud of the strong consumer rights and competition in the digital era," declared Jan Philipp Albrecht (Greens/ALE), charged with the legislation in the EP.

The principal clauses of this new law, which will replace the current directive in force since 1995, concern the right to be forgotten, the clear and explicit consent of the concerned person regarding the use of personal data, the right of transfer data to another service provider and the right to be informed in cases of information piracy.

With the goal of discouraging violations of the rules, the text provides for more strict implementation and fines reaching as high as 4 percent of total global revenues of a company. The ensemble of data protection measures includes as well a directive relative to the transfer of data for police and judicial ends. The directive will apply to data transfers across European Union (EU) borders and will set, for the first time, minimal norms for the handling of data for police purposes within every member state.

The rule will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the official journal of the EU. Its measures will be directly applicable in all member states two years after that date.

The countries in the EU will have two years to transpose the directive's measures into their national legislation.

Source: XINHUA