Privacy in the EU

The EU has proposed some new rules around privacy for companies. This of course could affect multinational companies directly, but also will have an important impact in the global debate on privacy. The proposals are not legislation and it seems likely that there will be a protracted debate within the EU before they become legislation.

The proposals call for more prescriptive solutions to some of the issues involving privacy. For example they propose a new "data protection officer" who would be charged with the administrative responsibilities, working with companies to make the rules happen.

The proposals also establish a "right to be forgotten" under which people could request that their information be removed from a company or organization where there is not a strong reason to retain it. This is a natural extension of the established "purpose of requesting" rules, under which companies must state their reasons for retaining the information.

For a write-up on the new proposals, check this link..