New EU data protection rules, finally agreed today in the European Parliament, have been welcomed by London’s Green MEP Jean Lambert.

The new, Europe-wide rules will give citizens back control of their personal data and establish common levels of data protection across the EU fit for the digital era.

After the vote, Green MEP for London and member of the European Parliament civil liberties committee Jean Lambert said:

“Today the European Parliament has stood up for privacy and given citizens new, up-to-date rights fit for the internet age. They replace the outdated patchwork of national data protection rules we have had until now.

“The new rules will give users back the right to decide on their own private data and let people decide for themselves which personal information they want to share.

“These landmark data protection reforms exemplify the kind of progress that’s possible when we work together with our European neighbours. It’s vital that the UK remains in the European Union so we can solve important cross-border problems like data protection and enjoy the benefits.”

The new rules include provisions on:

•       a right to be forgotten,
•       “clear and affirmative consent” to the processing of private data by the person concerned,
•       a right to transfer your data to another service provider,
•       the right to know when your data has been hacked,
•       ensuring that privacy policies are explained in clear and understandable language,
•       stronger enforcement and fines up to 4% of firms’ total worldwide annual turnover, as a deterrent to breaking the rules.

More information about the new laws can be found on The Greens in the European Parliament website and the European Parliament news service.

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The European Parliament today voted to adopt a legislative agreement on EU electronic communications rules.

Commenting after the vote Jean Lambert MEP said:

“The new e-communications rules adopted today are being sold as a victory for consumers but this is a sham. Despite rhetoric to the contrary, this package poses a real threat to the principle of net neutrality. The European Parliament had originally pushed for this to be enshrined in the legislation but the final agreement fails in this regard. Instead it introduces the possibility of ‘traffic management’ by service providers and ‘specialised services’, which would de facto undermine net neutrality and lead to a two-tier internet, with those who pay more getting more privileged access.

“To add insult to injury, the package is being sold as an end to roaming charges for mobile phone users but this is a hollow promise. While upfront roaming fees will end earlier than foreseen, the provisions are littered with loopholes under which telecoms firms could continue to charge more for the use of mobile phones when users travel in different EU member states. Service providers will be able to compensate for the loss with other charges if they claim they need to shore up their domestic prices. It will be up to national authorities to verify these claims, risking the creation of a patchwork of national exemptions. It is far from certain that it will be any cheaper to use phones cross border in 2017.”

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She said: “The Government keeps saying we need to defend whistle-blowers – the question is, how brave is it on this issue?

“Edward Snowden, and the journalists on both sides of the Atlantic who reported his revelations, have made a significant personal sacrifice to expose threats to our freedom – and now we should defend theirs.

“As Greens said in the European Parliament: Edward Snowden deserves a prize, not prosecution.”

The UN has observed that journalists and whistle-blowers often report on the very corruption which harms development and poverty-reduction most. What example do we set if we don’t protect those who blow the whistle on our own Government?

Ms Lambert made her comments ahead of World Press Freedom Day, which this year celebrates the role of a free press in development – and laments the fact that at least 600 journalists have been killed worldwide in the last decade alone.

“Only when journalists are at liberty to monitor, investigate and criticize policies and actions can good governance exist,” Ms Lambert added.

Ms Lambert, who will mark Word Press Freedom Day by taking action to raise awareness of the issue outside the London offices of the UK’s Guardian newspaper, said:“We need a responsible, free press, independent of government interference and persecution, to help deliver a fairer, more free and more sustainable world.

More information on UN World Press Freedom Day

Background

Edward Snowden, currently living in exile in Russia, is wanted for espionage after blowing the whistle on the US authorities’ mass surveillance of emails and ‘phone calls.

Mr Snowden alerted journalists and EU authorities to the wholesale collection of non-US citizens’ internet usage data, and the tapping of politicians’ ‘phones in 2012 while employed by the US military.

The revelations sparked an inquiry into US activities at the European Parliament – and the arrest of a number of journalists and even their associates, both here and in the US. Mr Snowden was charged with espionage – and promptly fled the US.

Last year Greens in the European Parliament nominated Mr Snowden for the prestigious Sakharov Prize for Human Rights – and called for the EU to offer him protection from prosecution.

Though this was rejected by a majority of Euro-MPs, Green MEP Jean Lambert now says the UK should offer Mr Snowden a safe home to mark its commitment to press freedom, ahead of an international celebration of the role a free press can play in development and poverty-reduction.

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They have backed Green proposals to ensure that Internet access can’t just be provided by established telecommunications firms – and that the ‘content’ users receive must be genuinely open: not just restricted to those services chosen by ISPs.

London’s Green MEP Jean Lambert said she was delighted with the decision: and said the ball was now in the court of EU ministers who will make a final decision on the so-called ‘Single Digital Market package’ later this year.

She said: “Thankfully, a majority of MEPs has seen sense today and voted to uphold the principle of net neutrality in the EU.

“The proposals by the Commission, which would essentially have given large providers the all-clear for discriminating against users as they see fit, have been revised. Today’s vote would explicitly provide for net neutrality and will hopefully ensure a level playing field for all online services and users, providing for a more open internet environment in which innovation is encouraged.

“Information online should not be subject to discrimination, blocking or interference by internet access providers. This is what net neutrality implies: guaranteeing an open and free internet, where everyone can have access and contribute to the same online information. Clearly, today’s vote is important but we will have to remain vigilant to ensure any future threats to net neutrality can be headed off.”

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Members of the Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee said the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Programme (TTIP) should not be pursued – at least until the US agrees to change its law and halt all ‘data mining’ from ‘phone and Internet use in the EU.

The investigation, set up by the committee after whistleblower Edward Snowden lifted the lid on the US PRISM project to monitor and record EU citizens’ telephone and Internet usage, condemned PRISM, which it said ‘may entail a breach of EU ctizens’ fundamental rights’.

It calls for an end to all mass surveillance, observing that privacy is not a luxury, but a fundamental right in a free and democratic society.

But Greens called for EU action to go further, establishing a ‘Digital Declaration of Independence’, ensuring that no data is collected – without express permission – on any EU citizens’ Internet or ‘phone use, that the EU ends all co-operation with the US unless and until it changes its law to prohibit all mass surveillance, and that EU states offer asylum to Edward Snowden and all US ‘whistleblowers’ shedding light on US spying activities in the EU.

Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP and a member of the Civil Liberties Committee which conducted the investigation, said: “The US has behaved abominably here – and the EU must defend the rights of its citizens’ from this unwarranted attack on their basic human rights.

“More and more of us are using the Internet, and smartphones, to access basic goods and services, and we really must be able to do so without our privacy being breached.

‘We must offer protection to everyone who sheds light on these activities, and end negotiations on TTIP, at least until the US has gauranteed such a blanket approach to hoovering up data will never be used again.”

The European Parliament as a whole will vote on the Green proposals when it considers the investigation report next month.

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The London Euro-MP made her comments after European Court of Justice Advocate General Pedro Cruz Villalon said of the 2006 Data Retention Directive: “The directive constitutes a serious interference with the fundamental right of citizens to privacy.”

The controversial directive, which requires Internet Service Providers and Telephone Companies to keep records on their customers’ e-mails and calls for two years so police or security agencies can access the data during investigations, should be replaced with a more balanced set of rules, based on protecting human rights, she said.

“The European Parliament is in the process of debating a new set of rules designed to protect the data of all EU citizens communicating on the internet,” she said.

“It must balance the right of individuals to know what data is being held about them – and for security agencies only to keep records as part of a specific investigation – with the need to keep us all safe from terrorism and cyber-crime.

“At the moment, as recent revelations about the extent of security agencies’ surveillance of ordinary citizens has shown, the balance is all wrong: and this legal opinion confirms that.

“Greens believe that EU data protection legislation should be based on the principles of government openness and transparency while protecting citizens’ right to privacy. The existing directive on Data Retention, which Greens opposed when it was adopted, takes exactly the opposite approach.”

Ms Lambert made her comments ahead of a hearing into US spying activities in the EU at the European Parliament next week in which US whistleblower Edward Snowden will give evidence by video-link.

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After the vote, London’s Green Party MEP Jean Lambert stated:

“In calling for the EU-US SWIFT agreement to be suspended, the European Parliament has today sent a clear message that enough is enough.

“The revelations about NSA interception of SWIFT data make a mockery of the EU’s agreement with the US, through which the bank data of European citizens is delivered to the US anti-terror system (TFTP).

“What is the purpose of an agreement like this, which was concluded in good faith, if the US authorities are going to circumvent its provisions?

“The EU cannot continue to remain silent in the face of these ongoing revelations: it gives the impression we are little more than a lap dog of the US.

“If we are to have a healthy relationship with the US, based on mutual respect and benefit, EU governments must not be afraid of defending core EU values when they are infringed. EU leaders must finally take a clear and unambiguous stance on the NSA violations at this week’s summit.”

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Members of the European Parliament’s Home Affairs and Justice Committee yesterday backed the Greens on several key issues for the future of our privacy online.

Ms Lambert said the next step was a period of dialogue with governments around the EU on how and when the new rules would be implemented.

“We agreed that there should be no transfer of personal data to non-EU governments – like the US – without new legislation,” she said.

“In addition to new rights to have data erased, and a requirement that personal information can only be collected with consent of the person concerned, this will really give back control of their privacy to millions of computer users around the EU.”

Members of the committee also backed Green calls for bigger fines for firms that break the rules and flout customers’ rights, as well as a reduction in red-tape facing small businesses, and new rights for transparency in the industry so everyone can see what data is being held about them – and what they are using it for.

“This vote is a breakthrough for data protection in Europe and would overhaul EU rules, ensuring they are up to the task of the challenges in the digital age,” Ms Lambert added.

“This legislation introduces overarching EU rules on data protection, replacing the current patchwork of national laws, and a clear majority of MEPs has voted to ensure it delivers a high level of protection for EU citizens.

“The European Parliament now has a clear mandate to start negotiations with EU governments, with a view to finalising this crucial legislation as soon as possible.

“The ball is now in the court of national governments to agree a position and start negotiations, so we can respond to citizens’ interests and deliver an urgently needed update of EU data protection rules without delay.”

“We also expect governments to stand by such legislation and not undermine it through co-operation with so-called friendly governments,” she observed.

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London’s Green MEP, speaking ahead of a Civil Liberties Committee meeting at which Guardian Editor Alan Rusbridger called for journalists to be protected from spying, said:

“The agreements between the EU and the US are leaky at best – resulting in a summer of scandals which has seen newspapers and even Government institutions claiming to have been the victims of US espionage.

“Surveillance might be justified to protect the public, but that surveillance must be targeted, proportionate and effective: what we are seeing is a move to blanket surveillance and so-called ‘fishing expeditions’.

“We have already seen that is essential to be able to manage intelligence effectively and the tragic failures where that does not happen. A mass of information is totally counterproductive.”

Ms Lambert added: “The EU needs to safeguard the security of its citizens and their privacy: all Member States need to respect that and should only breach that privacy under strict conditions, fully recognised in law and where redress is possible – and this should be part of any international agreements between the EU and US.”

The Green MEP will be hosting a discussion on data protection in the EU alongside Jim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group, at the Green Party’s Autumn Conference in Brighton on Saturday, September 14^th.

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German news magazine ‘Der Spiegel’ reported claims made by US whistle-blower Edward Snowden that the US National Security Agency (NSA) has been routinely spying on EU officials and institutions.

Ms Lambert will use a parliamentary debate to call for an immediate EU investigation – before the summer – and to put current talks on a controversial EU-US trade deal on hold until it is concluded.

She said: “It is alleged that there had been a serious breach of international law, and a shocking breach of trust between allies, and the EU must investigate this immediately – and not postpone any decision until after the European Parliament breaks for the summer.

“Obviously there can be no progress on a trade deal between the EU and the US while these allegations remain unanswered.

“The last few days have shown how urgently we need an international agreement on data protection.”

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