Brussels, 13/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 8 November, representatives of European newspapers and publishers brought together within the association ENPA expressed concern, at a general meeting in Athens, at the consequences for the press and distribution of titles of the future regulation on the protection of personal data. The association is concerned that the content of the new regulation, which establishes, amongst other things, a right to be forgotten (which has since become a right for one's data to be deleted), will jeopardise the “democratic mission of the press”, says Ivar Rusdal, President of ENPA. These fears were categorically rejected by the Commission, which reiterated that “clear exemptions for the journalism sector have been provided for in the regulation” in order to ensure that the principle of the right to be forgotten does not apply and to oblige the member states to legislate to this end.
This is only part of the European association's reproaches to the legislators. The compromise currently on the table and which was adopted by the civil liberties commission of the EP on 21 October, allows the member states to make the decision and therefore potentially to restrict the freedom of the press, the association argues. This principle of the exemption for journalistic work should, on the contrary, be directly applicable to the member states and legally binding, in the view of the association. It also calls for the reference to the treatment of data for journalistic objectives to be clarified and reinforced, more clearly stressing the retention of data in editorial archives or the protection of the personal data of sources. The publishing sector needs “unambiguous language”, ENPA stresses.
The Commission argues that the proposed regulation clearly stipulates this obligation on the member states, which must notify the Commission of how they have applied these exemptions. The old directive of 1995 recommended that the member states provide for exemptions only in strictly necessary cases, hence the improvement added by this regulation, the Commission states. Additionally, the Commission has no competence in press matters and therefore can only ask the member states to amend their legislation in this area.
However, the committee on civil liberties adopted a less stringent position on the matter than Commissioner Viviane Reding. In its vote of 21 October, it added a condition to this exemption, stating “if necessary, exemptions and derogations to certain provisions of the (…) regulation on the treatment of data of a personal nature should be possible in order to reconcile the right to data protection with the right to freedom of expression, and particularly the right to receive and communicate information”. This wording brings greater uncertainty, in the view of ENPA. The association has also called for explanations on the provisions concerning direct marketing, which will not justify differentiated treatment, in the view of the MEPs. ENPA believes that this compromise could simply destroy the “communication channels that have been used for decades to develop press circulation”. This would have an “indirect impact on the press and readership of European newspapers, some of which depend on subscriptions for 70% of their sales”, ENPA adds. (SP/transl.fl)