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EU Parliament Nixes Data Privacy Deal5 July 2000The European Parliament has voted down a proposed data protection agreement between the European Union and the US that allows companies doing business in EU member states to deliver electronic data to their colleagues in other countries. The final vote tally was not immediately available, though approval would have required at least 314 out of 626 votes. Newsbytes notes that the parliament's decision does not mean the arrangement, known as the "safe harbor," is dead, but the European Commission must proceed with caution if it is to put the agreement into effect. "The commission is studying the parliament's resolution," an EU source said, requesting anonymity. "The commission is not legally required to drop it now because it has not been found by the parliament to have exceeded its powers." The spokesperson said that the deal remains in place only because the parliament did not find that the EC exceeded its legal authority in developing the data privacy agreement with officials from the US Commerce Department. A French-language dispatch from the European Parliament said that "Le Parlement vient d'adopter le rapport Paciotti sur le 'safe harbor...' La balle est desormais dans le camp de la commission... et des USA." (The Parliament has just adopted the Paciotti report on the safe harbor... The ball is from now on in the camp of the commission... and the USA.") A committee within the European Parliament two weeks ago revealed a report showing disagreement with the substance of the safe harbor agreement, but EC officials - while expressing surprise - said they planned to try to educate the parliamentarians on the state of the data privacy discussions between the EU and US in time for the vote. While proceeding with implementing the safe harbor is an option, EU officials have noted that the political implications may prevent this from happening. The safe harbor agreement allows primarily US companies doing business in the EU to adhere to a code of business practices that allows them to conform to the EU Privacy Directive while continuing to be subject to industry self-regulation and the laws of the Federal Trade Commission as a backup. This is necessary because the EU Privacy Directive in theory forbids the transmission of sensitive consumer data to companies that - under foreign regimes - do not live up to the relatively stringent data protection laws. Reported by Newsbytes, www.newsbytes.com. |