Security

The European Commission will consider passing new laws forcing organisations that lose personal data to go public with that loss. The Commission has until now been opposed to the creation of wide-ranging data breach notification requirements. The Commission and European Council insisted that a data breach notification in a recent Telecoms Package of reforms only applies to telecoms companies. The European Parliament had attempted to widen its scope. That Package is currently under negotiation on the single issue of file sharer disconnections after the Parliament conceded ground on the data breach issue. The Commission has now said that it will investigate the passing of new EU-wide legislation forcing all kinds of organisation to notify any data breaches to the relevant authorities and the people affected. "The Telecoms Reform has put the issue of mandatory notification of personal data breaches firmly on the European policy agenda," said Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding at a meeting last week organised by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). "The reformed telecoms package, now awaiting final agreement, will establish rules concerning the prevention, management and reporting of data breaches in the electronic communications sector."

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