EU privacy watchdog warns Commission on controversial ACTA negotiations

A secret global negotiation over how to stop individualsbreaking copyright law threatens to undermine people's rights toprivacy and to the protection of their personal data, according tothe European Union's privacy watchdog.

European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) Peter Hustinx, whooversees the data protection practices of EU bodies and advisesthem on privacy policy, has said that those proposals that had beenmade public were worrying. He also condemned the fact that solittle information about negotiations has been publicised.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a proposeddeal on copyright-protecting measures being negotiated by theEuropean Commission, US, Canada, Japan and other governments aroundthe world.

It has attracted controversy because of the intense secrecysurrounding the proposals since news of the negotiations becamepublic two years ago. Critics have alleged that figures fromindustry have seen drafts of proposals that citizens of negotiatingcountries have not been able to see.

Hustinx has published an opinion which criticises the processfor its secrecy and warns of the impact of its allegedmeasures.

"The EDPS regrets that he was not consulted by the EuropeanCommission on the content of an agreement which raises significantissues as regards individuals' fundamental rights, and inparticular their right to privacy and data protection," said astatement from Hustinx's office. "In this context, he views withconcern the fact that little information is publicly made availableabout current negotiations."

"From what has been reported about the content of ACTA, he isconcerned as regards a potential incompatibility between envisagedmeasures and data protection requirements," said the statement."This would apply in particular to the legal framework that wouldbe put in place to fight piracy on the Internet and which couldinclude large scale monitoring of Internet users and the impositionof obligations on Internet Services Providers to adopt 'threestrikes Internet disconnection policies'."

Hustinx said that governments should be careful to balance therights of individuals to privacy with the need for companies andcreators to protect their copyright.

"Whereas intellectual property is important to society and mustbe protected, it should not be placed above individuals'fundamental rights to privacy and data protection," he said. "Aright balance between protection of intellectual property rightsand the right to privacy and data protection should be ensured. Itis also particularly crucial that data protection requirements aretaken into account from the very beginning of the negotiations soas not later on having to find alternative privacy compliantsolutions."

The office of the EDPS said that it had to base its assessmentof the privacy implications of the deal on a summary of 'keyelements' of the discussions produced by the European Commissionlast November. The 'opinion' it has adopted said that the rights ofthose to be investigated under any deal must be respected.

"Data protection laws cover all individuals, including those whoare potentially involved in counterfeiting and piracy activities;the combat of large-scale infringements will certainly also involvethe processing of personal data," it said. "In this respect, theEDPS strongly encourages the European Commission to establish apublic and transparent dialogue on ACTA, possibly by means of apublic consultation, which would also help ensuring that themeasures to be adopted are compliant with EU privacy and dataprotection law requirements."

Hustinx demanded that the European Commission try to find waysto combat online copyright-infringement which did not infringe onpeople's rights to privacy. He said that monitoring internet usewas acceptable, but that it should be "more limited [in] scope,notably through targeted ad hoc monitoring".

He also expressed concerns at the international transfers ofpersonal data that could be involved and demanded that bindingagreements be put in place to ensure that EU citizens were giventhe same protections in the EU as outside of it.