Today is Data Protection Day 2014, indicating the signing of the 1981 Convention 108, an international treaty which deals with matters of privacy and data protection.
The EU’s Justice Commissioner, Vivian Reding, said data protection in the European Union is a “fundamental right” for the consumer, one of which Europe already is at the highest level of data protection around the world.
EU data protection reform was proposed over two years ago, with the Justice Commissioner stating that the rules around data protection will help EU citizens who want to be able to trust online services and help SMB’s effectively negate the perceived risks around data protection.
The European Parliament is expected to implement the proposals in a first reading in April 2014, with an agreement on the data protection reform possible before the end of this year.
Under the European Directive for Data protection, they hope technology firms who are dealing with sensitive customer data will have a single standard across the EU. These new laws may even offer a competitive edge for European Tech companies, in the eyes of business customers for whom data protection is a priority.
The new EU laws will also help to reduce regulatory division and could lower the cost of compliance for firms. Although all these laws are setting a European wide standard, the Irish Regulator will still have responsibility for monitoring standards for the all companies based in Ireland.
If your business is thinking of making the switch to the cloud please get in contact with us by emailing info@mycloud.ie or give us a call on +353 (1) 901 7878 and we would be happy to help you get the most out of your IT.
