Kommissarin Redings Ansage zur Panik um die Datenschutzreform: This is only the scaremongering of certain lobbyists

Die für die Datenschutzreform zuständige Justizkommissarin Viviane Reding hat heute eine durchaus bemerkenswerte Rede gehalten, in der sie klar Stellung bezieht zu den kursierenden Mythen rund um die Datenschutzreform.

Mythos 1: Die Datenschutzverordnung mache Onlinedienstleistungen unrentabel und bremse Innovation.

The current Directive states since 1995 that consent has to be ‘unambiguous’. The Commission thinks it should be ‘explicit’. 27 national Data Protection Authorities agree. What will this mean in practice? That explicit consent will be needed in all circumstances? Hundreds of pop-ups on your screens? Smartphones thrown on the floor in frustration? No. It means none of these things. This is only the scaremongering of certain lobbyists. […] In fact, new business models based on data protection are mushrooming. Think reputation management. Think safe cloud services. Think new hard- and software that makes online banking more secure. Putting people in control of their own data, including on the Internet, will bring concrete benefits to individuals. They want new ways of managing their identities.

Mythos 2: Kleine und mittelständische Unternehmen würden von hohen Datenschutzbürden behindert.

Compare this with the city of Hamburg in Germany, a place with a thriving gaming industry. Hamburg counts 155 gaming companies with more than 3500 employees. SMEs that are generating growth and wealth. This is a data-sensitive industry developing in an area where data protection standards high, maybe the highest in the world.

Mythos 3: Mit der Datenschutzverordnung kämen neue, nie dagewesene Aufgaben auf die Unternehmen zu.

This is not a revolution but an evolution. We do not change the fundamentals. The same goes for other core elements of the proposal – the definition of personal data, the provision on profiling. The Commission didn’t invent data protection in 2012. The principles of the 1995 Directive remain valid. They simply need to be refreshed. If your business model is in line with the current rules, you have nothing to fear. Things are fine if you comply.

Dass die Vorschläge der Europäischen Kommission nicht an allen Stellen weit genug gehen, steht auf einem anderen Blatt. In diesem Fall der DigiGes-Broschüre zur Datenschutzreform.