At the annual Conference of Data Protection and Information
Commissioners, held last week in London, a joint set of objectives
was adopted by the international commissioners aimed at tackling
what they see as a growing international issue of constant citizen
surveillance.
"The protection of citizens’ personal data is vital for any
society, on the same level as freedom of the press or freedom of
movement," said the communiqué adopted by Commissioners. "As our
societies are increasingly dependent on the use of information
technologies, and personal data are collected or generated at a
growing scale, it has become more essential than ever that
individual liberties and other legitimate interests of citizens are
adequately respected."
The document calls on data and privacy commissioners to support
the establishment of an international convention on data
protection, which was first agreed on by commissioners in 2005.
"This initiative must be supported by DPAs with the competent
institutions," said the document. "DPAs should endeavour to promote
this initiative in their respective spheres of influence, in
particular within the regional organisations or linguistic zones to
which they belong. The need for global solutions respecting privacy
and data protection may arise in specific sectors (e.g. internet
governance, financial transactions, air transport) and must then be
addressed by DPAs with all appropriate means."
The commissioners say that international cooperation is vital
because foreign precedents are often used by a government to
justify action that erodes citizens' rights.
"National governments often use the argument that such and such
a country has already put a system into place to attack their
national data protection authorities for their reluctance to accept
the same system without discussion," says the commissioners'
document. "This causes serious problems of harmonisation and makes
it necessary for DPAs to think together on the basis of common
denominators."
The conference was hosted by the UK and the adoption of a set of
common aims welcomed by the UK's Information Commissioner, Richard
Thomas. "We have debated the issue of surveillance society in
detail," Thomas said. "The challenges facing society and
commissioners are substantial, not just in terms of surveillance
but also due to rapid technological developments. I fully support
this initiative and it is encouraging to see data protection and
privacy commissioners around the world committed to ensuring data
protection remains relevant and effective."
Last week Thomas warned that the UK had become a surveillance
society, and that the constant monitoring of individuals' actions
by public and private bodies was creating social division. A report
produced for the Commissioner's office said that in the future
wealthy people would be made more mobile by surveillance, while
poorer people would find it harder to be physically and
economically mobile because of social profiling based on data
gathering.
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