A Nudge on Digital Privacy Law from EU Official

The top data protection official for the European Union called for member governments to restore public trust in the Internet by pressing ahead with an overhaul of the bloc’s electronic privacy laws by the end of 2014.

The official, Peter Hustinx, the European data protection supervisor, also called on President Barack Obama to stick to his pledge to review American privacy rules in the wake of disclosures that have exposed the vast reach of government surveillance that has shaken trans-Atlantic relations. Another bill, aimed at providing more equitable access for companies and consumers to the Internet -- “network neutrality” -- and making mobile phone roaming less costly to consumers is now before the European Parliament, which is scheduled to vote on that legislation.

Hustinx stressed the urgency of keeping the privacy legislation moving through the Council of the European Union in Brussels, the body in which national governments meet to adopt laws and coordinate policies. Hustinx called on the bloc’s 28 member states to reach a deal with one another and with the Parliament by the end of 2014, because “the 21st century requires stronger rights, stronger responsibilities, more consistency across Europe.” Hustinx also challenged the United States government to do more in updating its own rules.

“There are some interesting movements in Washington, but we’d like to see much more,” he said. “If trust should be rebuilt, then it certainly takes a number of actions at the other side as well.” Hustinx suggested that European governments could be given added reassurance they would be in sync with the American approach to data privacy, if a group led by John Podesta, a special adviser to President Obama, issues its report on data privacy this spring as expected.