Commissioner hints at data protection revisions

In a speech on European Data Protection Day last week, the European Commissioner for the Information Society, Viviane Reding, suggested areas that might be addressed in the forthcoming revision of the Data Protection Directive:

We need to clarify the application of some key rules and principles (such as consent and transparency) in practice;

We need to ensure that personal data are protected regardless of the location of the data controller;

We need to promote Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs), by introducing new evolving principles (such as 'privacy by design');

We need to strengthen enforcement; and

We need to incorporate the fundamental principles of data protection to cover all areas of EU competence, including police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters and the EU's external relations.

The first three of these should be good news for our efforts to make  federated access management work internationally, since these have had to struggle with lack of legal clarity, resulting different interpretations and rules based on geography rather than risk. As with any legislation, of course, it will be important to keep a close eye on the detail.