From EPIC.org:
In a letter to members of the European Parliament, over twenty U.S. consumer organizations expressed support for the new European data protection law. The coalition, including Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, and Public Citizen, said that the proposed regulation “provides important new protections for the privacy and security of consumers.” The groups also explained that the European effort will raise privacy standards for consumers in other parts of the world. The European Union privacy regulation is a comprehensive update of the 1995 EU Data Protection Directive and adopts innovative new approaches to privacy protection, such as “Privacy by Design.” BEUC, the association of European consumer groups, has also expressedsupport for the new law. For more information, see EPIC: EU Data Protection Directive