In October, the European Court of Justice ruled that, in many cases, the data collected by web servers, such as the IP addresses of users, is personal data. The decision underlined the need to put in place adequate safeguards to protect personal data when operating websites and other online services.

Last week, in partnership with our co-hosts, the European Consumer Organisation, BEUC, we brought together high-level experts from across a spectrum of policy areas to talk about the future of our freedom and privacy online. It was a full house of regulators, legal counsel, technologists and non-government organisations, and a full day of intense debate ranging between subjects as diverse as merger control, indigestible privacy policies and encryption.

Let's imagine a six-year old child that has crossed the Mediterranean Sea in an inflatable boat, fleeing the horrors of war, and safely arriving on the coasts of the EU. It's hard to tell what will await her here. We don't know whether she will be allowed to stay, and if she stays where she will go or whether she will escape xenophobia. But one thing is certain. Irrespective of whether she will be allowed to stay or not, it seems that the child will have to give her fingerprints to be registered as an asylum seeker as soon as she arrives.