THE European Commission is to consider passing new laws forcing organisations that lose personal data to go public with that loss, moving away from its previous opposition to the creation of wide-ranging data breach notification requirements.
The Commission and European Council insisted a data breach notification in a recent Telecoms Package of reforms only applies to telecoms companies. But the Commission has now said it will investigate the passing of EU-wide legislation forcing all ki
nds of organisation to notify any data breaches to the relevant authorities and the people affected.
"The reformed telecoms package, now awaiting final agreement, will establish rules concerning the prevention, management and reporting of data breaches in the electronic communications sector," said Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding.
"The Commission will go a step further to extend the debate to generally applicable breach notification requirements and work on possible legislative solutions."
Courts to decide on internet cut-offsUK INTERNET users will not be disconnected for illegal file sharing without judicial involvement, a government minister has pledged.
Culture minister Ben Bradshaw told MPs there would be a "strict" process involving the courts.
The government belatedly added the possibility of disconnection into a pre-existing consultation on the recent Digital Britain report on how the UK should deal with emerging technologies.
The report did not back disconnection of internet access used by people suspected of illegal file sharing but the government later extended the consultation process and asked for views on the move.
"It wouldn't just happen on the basis of an accusation. Firstly, there would need to be a court order for any of the technical measures," Bradshaw told the House of Commons culture, media and sport committee.
"The suspension … would be as a very last resort for serial and serious infringement; (it] would be subject to a strict two-stage process. I hope you would not go away with the impression that innocent teenagers are going to be cut off willy-nilly on the basis of an accusation."
Location, location, location for tradersTHE European Commission will take action to stop online traders from charging consumers different prices based on an analysis of their web surfing habits or location.
It said it would produce guidelines for retailers by the end of the year.
Some online retailers engage in user profiling and charge consumers different prices depending on their location or other information they glean from the user's web activity, such as the last website they visited.
"To boost confidence in online trading, the problems regarding the collection of commercial data and its use to profile and target consumers will be analysed in a stakeholders forum," a Commission statement said.
The Commission carried out 11,000 test purchases to assess the state of cross-border e-commerce. It found 60 per cent of cross-border internet shopping orders were refused by retailers.
The Commission says its Services Directive, which must become law in EU countries by the end of this year, will help to solve the problem.
