Brussels, 02/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - The United States does not intend in the near future to amend the Privacy Act which denies EU citizens the right of legal redress in US courts in the event of misuse of their personal data. “The Privacy Act has been discussed about being amended, but there are a lot of Congressional priorities right now,” Mary Ellen Callahan, Chief Freedom of Information Officer at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said at the end of last month. “I know it's identified as a point of discrimination. … I would be surprised that it is happening this year,” she told a group of journalists in Washington. The 1974 Privacy Act gives individuals the right to know the information held by the government about them, to have them corrected if there are any errors and to take the government to court if it makes any unauthorised use of the information. However, the Privacy Act applies only to US citizens and those permanently resident in the US. Guaranteeing European citizens that same right of redress as US citizens if information is misused is an important issue for the Union, especially since the EU and the USA are expected to open negotiations before the end of the year on a general data protection agreement with a view to stepping up the fight against terrorism and organised crime (see EUROPE 10146). Will the EU, then, demand that the United States change its legislation and establish equality of treatment? “The United States knows what is wanted. It's up to the Americans to work out how to bring their system into line with Europe's needs. If the law has to be changed, that's their decision. For the moment they say it's not necessary, but it's an important factor in negotiations,” Matthew Newman, spokesman for Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding told EUROPE. Even though discussions with the United States are scheduled to begin only in September (to avoid any overlap with the Swift Agreement) negotiations promise to be difficult. “What is at issue in the new agreement is getting the Privacy Act changed and giving EU citizens the right of legal redress on a reciprocal basis,” a diplomat said. The United States, however, believes there are far fewer differences between the American and European data protection systems than might at first appear. “The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows everyone to get access to the data those federal agencies collected about them. Any person can go to court to enforce that right. There are exceptions for law enforcement investigation,” said Nancy Libin, Chief Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer, at the US Department of Justice. “Neither US citizens nor EU citizens have judicial redress under the Privacy Act. Under the Privacy Act there are exemptions in the law enforcement context … So US citizens and EU citizens are treated exactly the same under US law,” she added, stating that the Privacy Act was very similar to the EU framework decision on data protection. Libin hoped that negotiations on a data protection agreement would begin very soon given the framework agreed in 2008 by the high level group on data protection (see EUROPE 9695 and 9679). (B.C./transl.rt)