On Wednesday 18 March, Business Federations in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Sweden (BDI, Medef, Confindustria, CEOE and SN) welcomed the proposed amendments in the ‘omnibus’ package to simplify European digital legislation (the Digital Omnibus) regarding the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
These employers’ organisations believe that clarity, proportionality and a cooperative regulatory approach can make the GDPR a source of empowerment rather than a constraint.
“While Europe has successfully raised the bar on data protection, the combination of differing interpretations, complex compliance requirements, and the threat of heavy sanctions inadvertently discourage innovation and limit Europe’s digital competitiveness”.
The federations therefore think “it is crucial to simplify and facilitate the use of data by businesses in order to support the EU digital economy, not least because the integration of digital technologies across industrial value chains depends on the ability to process large volumes of data for research purposes. We therefore call on the Council to uphold the commitment made at the informal EU leaders’ retreat in Alden Biesen to advance an ambitious simplification agenda”.
These organisations are also calling on MEPs to demonstrate the same level of ambition.
Among their recommendations, these organisations suggest, with regard to the definition of personal data and the risk-based approach, that the scope of this definition should be narrowed, as it currently imposes disproportionate burdens. “A clarification should also address the legal status of pseudonymised and anonymised data”.
The recommendations also relate to the definition of scientific research and the clarification of the lawful basis for processing.
For further information: https://aeur.eu/f/l89 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)