Data privacy issues following PRISM affair [View all]

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The PRISM scandal has brought forth a series of issues related to the protection of the European citizens’ data and reactions calling for measure to prevent spying on these data.

As the EU is currently updating its data privacy legislation, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, the German justice minister, believes the EU needs a new set of data privacy rules, “a package of measures at the EU level against mass spying by foreign secret services," and considers that the "high German data protection standards should be the rule."

EDRi-member Digitale Gesellschaft sent a letter to Justice Minister Leutheusse-Schnarrenberger asking her to take position on the amendments tabled by her political party in Brussels.

The minister has also raised the possibility of new, tangible measures to punish corporations that participate in American spying activities. Also, in July 2013, Chancellor Angela Merkel called on the U.S. to observe the German law in intelligence operations in Germany.

"I expect a clear commitment by the U.S. government for the future, that, on German soil, you stick to the German law. We are a friendly partner. We are in a defence alliance and we must be able to rely on each other." She also urged other European governments to work closely together on the issue of data protection and set out tougher data protection laws requiring internet companies to reveal details about who receives personal information from them.

http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number11.16/data-privacy-prism