UK questions EU online privacy plan

Ed Vaizey, the UK’s communications minister, has questioned the practicality of planned additions to the European data protection directive, warning against creating “false expectations” over a proposed “right to be forgotten” for Internet users.

“We need to ensure that changes are both practical and proportionate,” he said. Speaking at a London event about e-privacy hosted by the CBI employers’ group, Vaizey called for greater harmony between international lawmakers when it comes to the Internet, as authorities in Europe and the US consider stronger measures to protect consumers’ personal data. This month Viviane Reding, the EU justice commissioner, said that websites such as Google and Facebook would be bound by European privacy law, even though they store data in the US. A review of data protection laws is expected to conclude this summer.