[Via... http://www.egroups.com/group/Communist-Internet ] . . ----- Original Message ----- From: William Affleck-Asch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Legal/Legislative Topics, PacNW Feminist <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Dority, Barbara <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Globally, Mobilize <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2001 3:03 AM Subject: [mobilize-globally] Reuters: Europe Leads Drive for Online Privacy (News) [during my two weeks in France one found this presumption to be very true - Will] http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010515/wr/tech_privacy_europe_dc_3.html Tuesday May 15 2:23 PM ET Europe Leads Drive for Online Privacy By Lisa Jucca BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europeans do not like others messing around with their personal data, and they are ready to pick a fight to defend their privacy, even with the United States. Although the idea of the right to privacy -- the right to be let alone -- hails from America, it is Europe that is now at the forefront in addressing the privacy worries created by new technologies such as the Internet. And, while the United States has opted for a softer approach in which different industries police their own privacy policies, Europeans are instead using their long-standing legislative tradition. ``Europeans feel that when you have a piece of legislation you can rely on that,'' said Veronica Villamar, legal adviser at the European Bureau of Consumers' Unions (BEUC). By 1970, the German state of Hessen had already passed the world's first-ever data protection code. Today, the 15 nations that make up the European Union boast the most comprehensive protection against the unlawful handling of personal data, and they would like other countries, especially the United States, to follow their approach. U.S. DISPUTE The differing approaches, particularly on handling personal data, has sparked bitter bickering between the EU and the United States and risks igniting a new trade war. European companies are barred from exchanging personal data with countries, like the United States, that do not have government-enforced data protection in place. Last summer, Brussels and Washington negotiated a pact on secure data transfer -- the so-called safe-harbor agreement -- but so far it has proved ineffective as only a dozen U.S. companies signed on. Software giant Microsoft Corp. said on Tuesday that it would sign the agreement. And, since it was agreed, President Bush has said data privacy rules could create a barrier for the free flow of information to and from the United States, putting the agreement at risk. While Europe presents a united front when it comes to the data dispute with the United States, there are a number of differences between individual countries. EU RULES IMPLEMENTED UNEVENLY The European Commission, the EU's executive, proposed the EU-wide rule for the handling and transfer of private data in 1995. The directive was endorsed by 1998, but has not been fully implemented in all the member states, forcing the Commission to initiate legal action against five EU states a year ago. Furthermore, the countries that have implemented the rules have done so unevenly. In Italy, deemed as the strictest of all the EU states, it is almost impossible to transfer any kind of data without prior consent, and misuse could get you up to two years of jail. ``On one hand we have Italy, where the national law is much stricter than the EU directive,'' said Joe McNaeme, press officer of Europe's Internet services provider association, EuroISPA. ``At the other extreme we have countries where the directive has not yet been transposed into national law.'' Furthermore, a recent study by the International Consumers organization show that despite tight data privacy law, many European sites still fail to comply with the existing regulations regarding privacy policies. COMMON POLICY FOR SPAM? Clashes within Europe are also evident when it comes to tackling the daily floods of unsolicited e-mail or spam, another major threat to privacy in the Internet age. The World Wide Web has become, for many, the symbol of intrusion as current technology enables cybermarketing companies to register detailed information about consumers as they surf the Web. Recent EU data show that e-commerce represents less than one percent of total retail sales in the 15-nation European Union. And, in a recent survey, consumers ranked the invasion of privacy as a top concern with respect to the Internet. ``While Internet penetration is growing rapidly, all the evidence shows that consumer confidence in the e-commerce medium itself and in cross-border transactions remains low,'' European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection David Byrne told a European Parliament committee recently. ``There is still a confidence barrier for consumers.'' In order to address such fears, Europeans are working on a number of common rules to transpose a ban to unsolicited communication from the off-line to the on-line world. But getting a common line over how to combat junk e-mail is not going to be easy, given the different EU traditions. In 10 out of 15 EU member states, the user is requested to specifically declare if he or she does not want data to be transferred by ticking a box -- the so-called opt-out clause. Austria, Denmark, Finland, Italy and Germany apply a more restrictive procedure, requesting companies to add consumers to their Web lists only if they specifically ask for it. The European Commission has taken the side of the minority and wants to adopt the so called opt-in clause, giving the choice to consumers. ``Consumers should be empowered to decide when they want to receive e-marketing,'' said Per Haugaard, spokesman for Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen. The EU's plans to extend regulation to the Internet have sparked a lot of complaints in the business world. New studies are coming up every day warning regulators that companies would be faced with an excessive financial burden if forced to implement secure privacy law. Copyright 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
