Calls For New Data Privacy Standards For Transatlantic Data Transfer

Europe and the US need to lead the way to agree common standards for legitimate Government surveillance and access to data without unnecessarily infringing on the data privacy rights of individuals or we risk stifling the development of the ICT sector.

That was the message from John O'Connor, head of Matheson's Technology practice and Chair of the Irish Group of the Society for Computers and Law (SCL), at today's SCL briefing on The Evolution and Reform of Data Protection to coincide with Data Protection Day.

Mr O'Connor stated, "For Governments and citizens, the on-going debate in Europe and the US regarding Government surveillance and access to data has highlighted the difficulty of finding a sensible balance between the privacy of personal data and the need for legitimate Government access to certain personal data for the prevention of crime and terrorism. There is now a prevailing view that Europe and the US need to lead the way to agree common standards for