On January 11, 2011, Michelle O’Neill, U.S. Department of Commerce Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade, held a briefing on her November 2010 meetings in Brussels with European data protection authorities. She discussed a data protection and privacy forum that was convened in November at which she met with several high-level European regulators, including Jacob Kohnstamm, Viviane Reding and Peter Hustinx. O’Neill mentioned “the right to be forgotten” as a current hot-button issue in Europe. Commissioner Reding, who is firmly in charge of the reconsideration of the EU Data Protection Directive, focused on ensuring easier compliance with EU data protection rules and greater harmonization among Member States. O’Neill stated that Peter Hustinx was encouraged by the work ongoing in the United States, including the “Green Paper” issued by the Department of Commerce. He considers the various U.S. efforts a basis for further dialogue with U.S. authorities. O’Neill noted that comments to the EU consultation are due January 15, 2011. The Department of Commerce intends to file a response.
Read more on Hunton & Williams Privacy and Information Security Law Blog.