Q&A: EU chief privacy regulator on new Internet rules

A Q&A with Viviane Reding, vice president of the European Commission. She is the continent’s leading advocate for laws on Internet privacy and data protection. And she’s not slowing down.

She believes that self-regulation-- promoted by Web giants such as Google and Facebook --isn’t enough to protect online users. And she’s skeptical of comments by a senior tech adviser for President Obama, who earlier this week said the administration will try to convince Reding and other European regulators that new laws that would hamper U.S. Web firms. Reding is scheduled to meet with Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary Janet Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security to discuss how to balance individual rights and greater security to fight terrorism. The head of privacy policy in the European Union and Kang talked about what lies ahead in Europe and her views on how the United States is handling efforts to better protect consumer privacy on the Internet. Here’s a link to an edited version of the interview.