Data Privacy Day Marked by Call for Comprehensive Legislation
Europeans are more zealous about protecting privacy than Americans, not merely because they wish to protect citizens from becoming objects of industrial intent, but because of their history, said Alexander Alvaro, a member of the European Parliament representing Germany, at a Technology Association of America Data Privacy Day event Wednesday. The example of the Nazis shows what can happen when a terrible regime collects information on residents, he said: Because Jews had to register, the Nazis knew exactly where to find them.
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Europe hasn’t been happy that records of its citizens’ financial transactions can be turned over to the U.S. Treasury Department or that calls can be wiretapped, Alvaro said. About 90 percent of European calls are routed through the U.S., he said, and European citizens haven’t been protected from wiretapping measures. The Bush administration’s “my way or the highway” approach -- as when it decreed that planes from countries that refused to turn over passenger name records couldn’t land in the U.S. - was off-putting, he said. Europe understands why the U.S. feels compelled to take such actions, Alvaro said, but an “atmosphere of respect” would go a long way in negotiations over data privacy. Europe and the U.S. must work side by side, he said. “I am more than sure, from this year on, we will do so,” he said.
Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., said it’s important to pass a federal privacy and data security law that includes security definitions, and provisions for outside accounting to ensure that companies are complying with data security requirements. The U.S. can become a true technology society only if individual privacy is protected, he said, and “we look forward to continuing our crusade.”
Rep. David Price, D-N.C., said young people must be educated about the risks of sharing information. Young people are incredibly sophisticated users of the Internet and computers, he said, but they're not so sophisticated in understanding what can result from sharing. Price and Stearns were lead co-sponsors of a National Data Privacy Day resolution that the House passed Monday. A similar resolution passed the Senate on Wednesday.