Subject: [DPEU] Doorgest.: [globalpriv-discussion] Letter regarding EU Data Protection Regulation
From: "Kristina Irion" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2015 14:06:41 +0200
List-Id: Data Protection Europe Leading Academics Group <dpeu.dlist.server.uni-frankfurt.de>

Dear Colleagues,

for those of you who are still following the legislative process. Please
share it with your domestic network of civil liberties and privacy
advocacy groups, trade unions, civil society organizations etc.

Kind regards,

--Kristina

Dr. Kristina Irion
Assistant Professor
Department of Public Policy
Central European University
H-1051 Budapest, Nador u. 9.
Hungary
Email to [email-masked]
Dial +36 (1) 3273000, ext. 2283
>>> Gus Hosein <[email-masked]> 13-04-15 14:00 >>>
Dear friends of PI,

Please see below letter drafted by EDRI (European Digital Rights) and
supported by PI, to the President of the EU Commission about the
downward spiral around the data protection regulation.

The letter is an important component of an international campaign to
fight against the very real risk that current negotiations on the EU
data protection regime will lead to rules which fall below existing EU
standards, including the EU charter on fundamental rights (for more on
the status of these negotiations and the risks, see the report Broken
Badly, here: https://edri.org/broken_badly/).

As you all know well, EU rules on data protection have been an important
yardstick around the globe. Any weakening of the protection of the right
to privacy offered by these rules is likely to have a significant
negative effect beyond Europe. It will give governments (and companies)
the political justification to resist introducing legislation affording
strong protection of personal data and/or to undo existing national
legislation modelled on the current EU rules.

The deadline for signature on this letter is Friday 17 April. I’ve been
informed that the letter is now closed to editing so no changes can be
made to the letter. If your organisation wishes to sign, please send a
logo plus the name of your organisation and the country/continent that
your organisation is active (or if your organisation is global) to
[email-masked] Alternatively, please send this information to me and I
will pass it on to EDRI.

Keep well…

Gus

Current signatories:

Access (International)
Privacy International (International)

Bits of Freedom (Europe - Netherlands)
Digitalcourage (Europe - Germany)
Open Rights Group (Europe - United Kingdom)
Panoptykon Foundation (Europe - Poland)

Center for Digital Democracy (North America - United States)

Letter:

Dear President Juncker,

The undersigned organisations, NGOs from the European Union and around
the globe are deeply concerned at the changes to the data protection
reform package being made in the Council of the European Union. Europe's
data protection framework is not just important for the protection of 
European citizens, it is not just important for building trust in
European businesses, it is also crucial as an international gold
standard for data protection and privacy on a global level.

On behalf of the College of Commissioners, former European Commission
Vice-President Viviane Reding promised European citizens and businesses
stronger, unified data protection rules, bringing them "into the digital
age without compromising the high level of data protection which has
been in place in Europe since 1995".[1][2] Dropping below the levels of
protection in the 1995 Directive would be "an absolute red line" for the
Commission, she promised.[3] The Council has retreated beyond this line
and is disappearing into the distance, as our recently published
analysis demonstrates.[4][5]

A failure of the European Commission to maintain levels of data
protection in the 1995 Directive would be a breach of the promise made
by the European Commission, it would be a breach of the promise of
treaty-level protection of the right to personal data enshrined in
Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and it would be a
crushing breach of trust for this, in your words, "last chance”
Commission.[6]

We write this letter with one simple question –
 will you take
responsibility for ensuring that the CommissioWe look forward to your timely answer, before the Council completes its
discussions ahead of the trialogue negotiations on this proposal.

Yours sincerely

[1] http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-140_en.htm
[2] http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13-209_en.htm
[3] http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13-197_en.htm
[4] https://edri.org/broken_badly/
[5] http://lobbyplag.eu/governments
[6]
http://www.euractiv.com/video/juncker-will-be-last-chance-commission-309405

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