Monika Kuschewsky and Kristof Van Quathem write:
On January 8, 2013, MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht released his draft report on the proposed EU Data Protection Regulation. Albrecht, of the European Green Party, is rapporteur for the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee of the European Parliament, the lead Committee for the proposal. His draft report will now be considered by the Committee members, who have until the end of February to table amendments before it will be discussed in plenary. They will need this time as Albrecht has tabled a total of 350 amendments to the proposed Regulation. Those who expected a conciliatory report searching for compromise and practical solutions will be disappointed, as many of the proposed amendments will strengthen the rights of individuals and supervisory authorities and reinforce existing, or impose additional, obligations on companies. As a result, the draft report is expected to be heavily criticized and amended in the months to come.
In terms of content, it is noteworthy that Albrecht puts greater emphasis on the Internet. A number of the proposed amendments are closely related online practices. This is rather worrisome as the proposed Regulation is not limited to online data processing, and care should be taken not to turn the General Data Protection Regulation into an Internet Data Protection Regulation.
Read their helpful bullet-point recap of some of the amendments on InsidePrivacy.