Press Release
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EXPERT REPORTS IN P&AB SAY CHANGES IN EU DIRECTIVE COULD HAVE MAJOR IMPACT ON U.S. MULTINATIONALS
Hackensack, NJ//October 31, 2002 Three leading privacy experts writing exclusively for a special "In Depth" edition carried this week in Privacy & American Business, say changes in the EU Data Protection Directive will have a major impact on U.S. multinationals doing business in Europe.
The reports follow the September 30-October 1 conference in Brussels called to consider changes in the Directive. European Commission officials and 500 consumer, business, and government representatives met as part of what was billed as a "regularly scheduled review" of the Directive.
P&ABs coverage was written by three recognized "insiders" on the global privacy scene: Barbara Wellbery, Partner with Morrison and Foerster; Don Harris, President of HR Privacy Solutions; and J. Beckwith "Becky" Burr, Partner with Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. Each offers a different perspective on what happened in Brussels, including positions expressed by U.S. businesses, views of European data protection agencies, EU Commission reactions, and both consumer and personnel data issues raised. The reports flag what will be the on-going privacy debate over changes that will be taking place on both sides of the Atlantic.
"Weve commissioned these reports because we know the great interest with which developments on this front are viewed in the business and privacy communities," said Dr. Alan Westin, President and Publisher, P&AB.
Background
The Directive was enacted in 1995 and went into effect October 24, 1998. It has been implemented into national law by all EU Member States except Ireland and Luxembourg. The Commission expects they will do so by the end of the year.
On June 25, the European Commission opened a consultation period to give those directly affected by the Data Protect Directive an opportunity to speak out on the challenges they face with implementation. Speakers from government, industry and academia came from across Europe, North America, Latin America and Australia. The Commissions report is due out early next year.
Reports from Brussels
Some of the key issues discussed at the conference and covered in the reports include:
For information on receiving this months special issue of Privacy & American Business, contact Irene Oujo at ioujo@pandab.org or (201) 996-1154.
About Privacy & American Business
Privacy & American Business, (pandab.org & www.PrivacyExchange.org), is an activity of the non-profit Center for Social & Legal Research, a non-profit, non-partisan public policy think tank exploring U.S. and global issues of consumer and employee privacy and data protection since its launch in 1993.
Always on the cutting edge, P&AB was the first to chart and analyze for business the rise of privacy from a second-tier concern to a front-burner issue and to provide opportunities in programs and meetings to assist businesses in understanding the privacy environment as it is evolving. P&AB, a pioneer in recognizing the rise of the corporate privacy officer (CPO), was the first to open its CPO Program in 1999.
The Center and all its activities are led by Dr. Alan Westin, President and Publisher of P&AB; Robert Belair, Partner at Oldaker, Biden & Belair and P&ABs Vice President; and Lorrie Sherwood, P&ABs Executive Director.