European Commission Outlines Steps To Restore Trust In EU-US Data Flows

hypnosec writes "The European Commission has outlined steps it believes will pave the way for restoring faith in EU-U.S. data flows following revelations about NSA spying activities under its PRISM program. The EC notes that spying on its citizens, companies, and leaders is unacceptable; and that citizens of U.S. and EU need to be reassured about protection of their data, while companies need to be reassured that the existing agreements between the two regions are respected and enforced. The Commission outlined a total of six areas that it believes require action including swift adoption of the EU's data protection reforms; making Safe Harbor safer; strengthening data protection safeguards in the law enforcement area; commitment from the U.S. for making use of a legal framework; addressing European concerns in the on-going U.S. reform process; and promoting privacy standards internationally."

Comments

We have a reform process in the US?

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

>> addressing European concerns in the on-going U.S. reform process

Really, we have an active privacy reform process in the US? I haven't heard much about that since Obamacare finally went off the rails.

Re:We have a reform process in the US?

[Anonymous Coward]

Given your US news I can see why you wouldn't know anything about it really.

Re:We have a reform process in the US?

[mlts]

What, you mean the latest news about a four game suspension from the Seahawks isn't news, or Dancing With the Stars new season?

No wonder why most of the clued Americans end up reading Al Jazeera these days when 5-10 years ago, AJ was joked about as the "terrorist news network". Thanks to an earlier reference, dw.de is another decent source (although all the above have their bias, and one can easily see it in the way their stuff is phrased.)

On a realistic note, the Europeans have a valid issue about this.

There are diplomatic solutions (trust, but verify), but there are also technological solutions. One of those could be passthrough encryption in one country before data is stored in another, where if company "A" wants to store data in their home country, the data from country "B" would have to be encrypted in that country by a key only held there. Of course, there is a lot of room to compromise keys (key management is in itself a major undertaking), but done right, it isn't impossible.

We have the solution!

[Anonymous Coward]

More lies! This will work this time. We're sure of it!

You'd be a fool to trust the US anywhere near your data these days. All the stuff revealed lately is just *some* of what's what.
What we don't yet know.......

Justice has been severely folded, bent, mutilated, and trampled. It's going to take DECADES to restore even a small percentage of the trust erased lately.

Re:We have the solution!

[gmuslera]

This. If NSA chief have no problem lying to US congress, and had no consequences after that was found out, what stop them to keep lying to Europe all they want?

And what was released till now is just the tip of the iceberg (or just a snowflake over it) so far it has been released 500 out of 200000 of the documents that Snowden got.

There is no reasonable trust anymore, but they can be gullible all they want, or just play this as a theater to keep their population at bay.

Restore trust??

[fustakrakich]

Heh, that's a good one. How do you restore trust in a system that is corrupt by design, not by defect? You cannot ever trust any system to works on concentrated authority. It is impossible to acquire adequate oversight.

"EU won't suspend data sharing accords with U.S."

[dcollins]

That's the more concise headline today at Reuters -- http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/27/us-eu-us-security-idUSBRE9AQ0F120131127

The European Union backed down on Wednesday from threats to suspend agreements granting the United States access to European data, rejecting calls for a tougher stance over alleged U.S. spying.

The move marks an abrupt about-turn for the European Commission, the EU executive, after warnings it issued in July to U.S. officials following revelations that Washington had spied on European citizens and EU institutions.

Cecilia Malmstrom, the EU's commissioner for home affairs, said she had found no proof of U.S. wrongdoing, either in the sharing of flight passenger records or in the tracking of international payments...

Sophie in 't Veld, a Dutch Liberal member of the European Parliament, criticized the Commission's move.

"They are putting diplomatic relations ahead of citizens rights. The Commission is being extremely timid to the Americans," she told Reuters.

"They have done an investigation and concluded that everything is hunky dory. This is not serious," she said, adding that taking the United States at its word was naive.

They'll just continue spying anyway

[2phar]

When we have flaps like this that occur, you know, something will change, and I expect we'll get some sort of announcement that will - that the Europeans can point to as a curtailment and as a change. But as time goes by, flaps blow over, and the permanent interests of ourselves and our allies reassert themselves.

Paul Pillar, 28-year veteran of the CIA

Trust in USA? What's that?

[coder111]

Who in their right mind could trust USA? Unicorns are more real than trust in USA. Spying, 2 wars based on lies and deceit, lots of profiteering at everyone's expense, patent trolling and other IP based litigation nonsense, shoving harmful legislation down everyones throats- all of that is coming from US.

Well, unless it's "trust" as in "I trust US to screw everyone at every opportunity".

--Coder

Re:"EU won't suspend data sharing accords with U.S

[neo-mkrey]

So the EU rolls overs and is a good bitch for the US again? Pathetic! I don't know what is worse, the fact the US has no morals, or the fact the EU has no balls?

For the US/NSA trust is a one way street

[schwit1]

The EU tried going the trust route and it got burned. This situation is indicative of the scorpion and the frog.