European directives raise data dilemmas

摘要

On March 12,2014, a plenary session of the European Parliament voted through a new data protection directive and regulation. This would replace EU legislation that dates from 1995, well before the era of mass internet usage, as well as harmonising a patchwork of 28 national codes. The EU estimates the savings at €2.3bn per year. Although the legislation is partly targeted at the use of personal data by social media websites, retail financial institutions also store considerable amounts of very sensitive data including salary details. Under the directive, citizens would be given what the European Commission (EC) called a "right to be forgotten", and companies will need explicit consent before processing customer data. The EC's proposal was one of the most heavily amended ever at the European Parliamentary stage, highlighting the contentious and complex nature of the legislation.