Business concerned by new EU privacy law initiative

A European parliament committee has added to and strengthened moves to make sure companies no longer share European citizens' data with authorities of another country.

The parliament's Civil Liberties Committee voted this week to include "stronger safeguards for data transfers to non-EU countries."

A vote on the draft legislation will be taken next year by the full chamber of the European Parliament.

Xawery Konarski, a legal expert at IAB Poland - an organization representing internet entrepreneurs operating in Poland - has criticised the draft, however, saying that the proposed definition of 'private data' was too wide and will complicate business relations on the web.

He also said that the common practice of profiling on the web - a method of combining cookies, web site traffic analysis and personal information to create a profile of a customer's browsing and buying habits - is vital for marketing purposes.

The civil rights committee passed a draft on 21 October which provides every 'natural person' with the 'right to object' to profiling and to be informed of this right in a 'highly visible manner'. However, consent is not 'necessarily required'.

Katarzyna Szymielewicz director of the Panoptykon civil rights group, has praised the project, which would "level the playing field for all companies operating in the EU, regardless of their geographical location and origin," she told the PAP news agency. (pg)