Data protection rules have to be updated

تتخذ الحكومة خطوة أخرى في إنشاء المجلس الوطني للعلوم والتكنولوجيا

The National Commission for Data Protection had already today launched a warning in a letter to the Assembly of the Republic about the growing use of video surveillance systems and controls through technologies, which threaten the privacy of citizens. While not forgetting to mark Data Protection Day, the European Commission also underlined today that the privacy of citizens is one of the major challenges of the next decade and admits to revising the 1995 Directive.

With the use of behavioral advertising, which follows in the footsteps of citizens on the Internet, and the number of electronic chips on the rise, the European Commission warns of the need to update data protection rules in order to keep up with technological developments to ensure the right to privacy.

Contrary to what is defined in other countries, EU rules state that information about a person can only be used for legitimate reasons, with the prior consent of the interested party. But the European executive wants to go further and «create a clear and modern regulatory framework», with the revision of the 1995 Directive.

While recognizing the importance of innovation, they should not override citizens’ fundamental right to privacy, argues Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner for the Information Society and the Media.

The definitions of the 1995 Directive (Data Protection Directive) and the new specific rules for telecommunications and the Internet that define the principles of privacy in electronic communications, will be the basis of the new regulatory framework.

It is recalled that in the scope of telecommunications, service providers are obliged to inform the authorities of cases in which security breaches have resulted in the loss or misuse of personal data. Consumers’ rights to be informed are also reinforced whenever information such as that recorded in cookies is stored or consulted on their computers.