EU lawmakers are “copy-pasting” lobbyists’ amendments to the new data...
EU lawmakers are “copy-pasting” lobbyists’ amendments to the new data protection regulation into their own legislative proposals, Europe-v-Facebook.org and Privacy International said Monday. Website founder Max Schrems noticed striking similarities between proposed amendments and lobbying papers written by representatives from…
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Amazon, eBay, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the European Banking Federation, they said. After talking to lawmakers, Schrems realized that several, particularly those from the U.K., had “unthinkingly copied entire paragraphs” written by lobbyists, they said. Brussels has been heavily lobbied by industry and government since the European Commission proposed the new measure last year, they said. The information technology industry “is about to kill our fundamental right to data protection and privacy and some Parliamentarians do not even notice when assisting them,” said Schrems. “Revelations like these add fuel to the fire of existing concerns about the democratic deficit in the European Union,” said Privacy International Trustee Anna Fielder. She urged lawmakers to take all sides of the argument into consideration when making law, not just the richest and most powerful corporate interests. Another website, LobbyPlag.eu, says it shows which industry-pushed changes went straight into amendments. Amazon, eBay and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce didn’t comment by our deadline. Meanwhile, the EC and European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association Monday jointly urged the European Parliament and Council to ensure that new data protection rules create a level playing field among all actors in the information and communication technology industry to safeguard competition between EU companies and those based elsewhere. The proposed measure, which subjects all EU and non-EU companies to the same rules when they offer services to European consumers, strikes the right balance between data protection and innovation, they said.