Germany Calls For Tighter Global Internet Safeguards
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for tougher data protection laws that would require internet companies to reveal details about what personal information they have stored and to whom they have shared it with.
The fundamental law will ensure that companies such as Facebook and Google will be subject to the same strict privacy laws across all European Union member states, and not simply comply with national laws in the countries where they are registered, she said in an interview with German television channel ARD.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for tougher data protection laws that would require internet companies to reveal details about what personal information they have stored and to whom they have shared it with.
The fundamental law will ensure that companies such as Facebook and Google will be subject to the same strict privacy laws across all European Union member states, and not simply comply with national laws in the countries where they are registered, she said in an interview with German television channel ARD.
“Germany will make clear that we want Internet firms to tell us in Europe who they are giving data to,” Merkel told ARD.
“We have a great data protection law. But if Facebook is registered in Ireland, then Irish law is valid, and therefore we need unified European rules,” she said, adding that people were rightly worried about what happened to data outside Germany. “Germany will take a strict position.”
The revelations of U.S. spying on Europe shown in documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden have caused an uproar in Germany, where citizens, having twice experienced totalitarian regimes in the 20th century, are particularly sensitive about the protection of personal information.
Merkel added:
[quote] I expect a clear promise from the American government that in the future they will observe German law on German territory. We are friendly partners. We are in a defence alliance and we must be able to rely on each other. [/quote]Related: Germany Demands End To US “Cold War” Spying Activities
Related: French Authorities Using ‘NSA-Style Methods’ To Spy On Citizens: Report
The EU’s justice commissioner, Viviane Reding, on Monday urged all EU member states to follow Germany’s lead on data protection reform.
“Such common European rules are indeed the best way to ensure a solid protection of the personal data of EU citizens, also with regard to companies from third countries operating in the EU,” said Reding. “Europe must stand united on this matter, which, at the heart of European values, concerns the fundamental rights of EU citizens and is in addition of great importance for the European single market.”
A draft directive was presented by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, in January 2012 and EU officials hope it can be finalised before the European elections next year. It has formed one of the most controversial parts of ongoing EU-US trade negotiations, as U.S lobbyists and officials have repeatedly tried to pressure their European counterparts into watering down the legislation to suit Silicon Valley as well as the interest of U.S. spy agencies.
“I would find it helpful if the European council in October – which will deal with the digital single market – could address this matter and speed up the work in council on this important matter,” said Reding.
In the ARD interview, Merkel said the means did not always justify the ends and said that it was worth exploring adding a protocol on data protection to an existing United Nations agreement on civil and political rights.
“We are fighting a war on terrorism but not everything that is technically possible … must be carried out,” she said.
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