EU sets global standard for fundamental rights, consumer protection and fair competition

The General Data Protection Regulation gives teeth to existing data protection, creates more transparency for consumers and reduces bureaucracy in the digital internal market. The law will be directly applicable throughout the European Union from Friday 25 May 2018. The rules apply to companies, whether they are established inside or outside the European Union.

Data abuse, as in the case of Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, can now cost companies up to four percent of global annual sales. On Tuesday (22 May) Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg will answer questions at the European Parliament.

Jan Philipp Albrecht, European Parliament's negotiator for the General Data Protection Regulation, comments:

"With the General Data Protection Regulation, the European Union sets a global standard and ensures that fundamental rights, consumer protection and fair competition are strengthened. For the first time, the same high level of data protection rules apply to everyone in the European Union; the new EU-wide rules replace a patchwork of 28 different national regulations.

“The General Data Protection Regulation ensures greater transparency for consumers. They can decide for themselves if and to whom they want to pass on their data and which data they want to delete. Switching from one provider to another becomes easier because users can take their data with them.

“Data protection is getting sharp teeth with new, strong enforcement rules. Large, high-turnover companies that break the rules will face fines in the billions. Small businesses without risky data processing will be freed up from bureaucracy.

“Unfortunately, the European Commission did not make sufficient use of the two-year transition period to provide better information on the background and consequences of the reform, including for individual entrepreneurs, associations and website operators. This must now be done quickly, in cooperation with the supervisory authorities and interest groups. For the vast majority of data processors, there is no need to worry - those who comply with the existing data protection rules will not have a great need for adaptation and do not have to fear penalties.

“The General Data Protection Regulation is a great opportunity for European companies. They can use the high level of data protection as a competitive and location advantage - companies from other parts of the world have yet to implement European data protection.

“The European Union is turning trust into a market advantage with the General Data Protection Regulation. Internet giants like Facebook should recognize the signs of the times and make trust in data security and privacy their business model. It is a bad sign that Mark Zuckerberg only wants to answer the questions of selected Members of the European Parliament behind closed doors."

Background

Blog from Jan Philipp Albrecht: https://www.greens-efa.eu/en/article/news/a-success-for-citizens-and-businesses-the-new-data-protection-rules/

GDPR in ten points: https://www.greens-efa.eu/files/doc/docs/e1c5756e2582f31e464b8e2e0ce205bc.pdf