It’s not like the citizens of Europe are taking to the streets to defend their right to keep their private dataprivate. They are probably not quite sure who to defend themself against. But an increasing number ofacademics and intellectuals across the EU are now lining up as the frontline in the upcoming battle of electronic consumer data. The computer industry lures with huge national income and millions of new jobs if they just get complete access to the information about your online activity stored in hundreds of large databases around the world.
“The fact that so many came to sign the position actually shows that the situation is serious.”
Kai Rannenberg
Leading academics across Europe are signing an online petition to support the European Commission’s draft data protection regulation in protest at industry lobbying to weaken it. So far, more than 80 professors from computer science, law, economics and business administration disciplines have joined. The industry’s hunt for profit could seriously undermine people’s trust in companies who want to use their personal data, they warn, pointing out the financial risk involved.
The outraging professors refers to a study conducted by the US based firm, Boston Consulting Group, that states profit potential could be seriously undermined if people do not trust companies who want to use their personal data. The group estimates €440 billion in 2020 in the EU alone is at risk if the industry fails to establish a trusted flow of data.
The computer industry’s lobbyists, on the other hand, are waving with surveys that says the companies will generate $1.1 trillion in revenue in 2015, while creating nearly 14 million new jobs worldwide.
It may seem like the two conflicting parties are living in two separate worlds, (and to some degree they do), but soon we will all be united in one big global network called “The Cloud“.
“Currently, companies can process personal data without client consent if they can argue that they have a legitimate interest in the use of that data. So far, unfortunately, the term “legitimate interest” leaves plenty of room for interpretation: When is an interest legitimate and when is it not?”
You see, there are two things going on here:
Writing Their Own Laws
First, the development of what the geeks call cloud computing, which means that data is stored on random servers around the globe instead of your own hard disk. This new technology is expected to change the whole computer business radically, making it possible to access and analyze large amount of information anywhere in the world.
Second, the EU commission is about to finalize an update of the 18-year-old directive that aims to bring the law in line with the latest technologies. And this is where the privacy issue comes in.
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