LCD's Press release re the changes that the Government want to the DP
Directive; the Directive has to change so that Member States can change the
legislation
Dr. Chris Pounder
Consultant & Editor of Data Protection & Privacy Practice
Information & Technology Group
Masons - International Law Firm
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305/02
16 September 2002
GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO EUROPEAN COMMISSION'S QUESTIONNAIRE ON EC DATA
PROTECTION DIRECTIVE
The government has submitted to the European Commission the final part of
its response to the Commission's questionnaire on the implementation of the
1995 EC Data Protection Directive. The government has identified those
provisions of the Directive which it believes the Commission should review.
The government has also joined with Sweden, Finland and Austria to make
proposals for review.
The government believes now is a good time to review the implementation of
the Directive in the light of rapid developments in technology. The aim is
to improve the Directive's flexibility and effectiveness while safeguarding
protection for individuals' personal data.
The government's response includes the following points:
· The Commission should review the definitions of "personal data" and
"personal data filing system" in order to make them more precise and capable
of being applied consistently in practice;
· The Commission should review Article 4 of the Directive which determines
the member states' law that applies to the processing of personal data;
/more
· The Commission should review the way "sensitive data" is defined in the
Directive and the application of the special rules relating to them. It is
important that EU citizens are satisfied that there is stronger protection
in practice for their most sensitive data. The Directive currently defines
sensitive data according to particular categories which do not necessarily
reflect the sensitivity of the data in practice;
· The Commission should review the subject access arrangements in the
Directive to ensure that they strike the right balance between the interests
of data subjects and those of data controllers. But this must be done in
such a way as not to reduce effective protection for the legitimate
interests of data subjects;
· The Commission should review the Directive's rules relating to the
transfer of personal data to third countries and bring forward simpler and
more flexible arrangements;
· The response reflects the results of consultation undertaken by the
government two years ago.
Yvette Cooper, Parliamentary Secretary at the Lord Chancellor's Department
with ministerial responsibilities for data protection, said: "Data
protection is vital for individuals' privacy in the world of modern
technology. But technology is changing fast and this is a good time for the
Commission to review the implementation of the Directive to ensure effective
data protection is keeping pace with technological change."
Notes to Editors
1. The Data Protection Act 1998 implements the 1995 EC Data Protection
Directive into UK law.
2. The Data Protection Act is enforced in the United Kingdom by the
Information Commissioner, who is independent of government. The current
Information Commissioner, Elizabeth France, stands down at the end of
September. Her successor Richard Thomas will take over at the beginning of
December.
3. In May the European Commission issued a questionnaire to EU member states
about the implementation of the Data Protection Directive. The government
sent the first part of its response to the European Commission in June. It
is available on the LCD website: www.lcd.gov.uk
/more
4. The present paper completes the government's response. It draws on the
responses to the government's post-implementation appraisal of the 1998 Act
which it carried out in autumn 2000. It published a summary of the responses
in December 2001.
5. The response will be published on the website: www.lcd.gov.uk
ENDS
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