Shaping a Safer Digital Future: a new Strategy for a new decade
Today, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), Wojciech Wiewiórowski, published his Strategy for 2020-2024, which will focus on Digital Solidarity. In a connected world, where data flows across borders, solidarity within Europe and internationally will help to strengthen the right to data protection and make data work for people across the EU and beyond, he said.
Wojciech Wiewiórowski, EDPS, said: “This is a new strategy for a new decade, to shape a safer, fairer and more sustainable digital Europe, particularly for the most vulnerable in our societies. My mandate will embody the spirit of collaboration and unity. We will continue to work with authorities and experts across different policy areas to address the digital asymmetries that have become more acute during the Covid-19 public health crisis.”
At his presentation of the EDPS strategy in an online event to which over 150 people registered, the Chair of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) Andrea Jelinek and EU Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders contributed their remarks.
The three core pillars of the EDPS strategy outline the guiding actions and objectives for the organisation to the end of 2024.
- Foresight:
The EDPS will continue to monitor legal, social and technological advances around the world and engage with experts, specialists and data protection authorities to inform its work.
- Action
To strengthen the EDPS’ supervision, enforcement and advisory roles the EDPS will promote coherence in the activities of enforcement bodies in the EU and develop tools to assist the EU institutions, bodies and agencies to maintain the highest standards in data protection.
- Solidarity:
While promoting digital justice and privacy for all, the EDPS will also enforce responsible and sustainable data processing, to positively impact individuals and maximise societal benefits in a just and fair way.
Concluding his presentation, Wojciech Wiewiórowski said that the EDPS would collaborate with European institutions and bodies and called for action to ensure a safer digital future.
The rules for data protection in the EU institutions, as well as the duties of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), are set out in the Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. These rules replaced those set out in Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 in December 2018.
The EDPS is an increasingly influential independent supervisory authority with responsibility for monitoring the processing of personal data by the EU institutions and bodies, advising on policies and legislation that affect privacy and cooperating with similar authorities to ensure consistent data protection. Our mission is also to raise awareness on risks and protect people’s rights and freedoms when their personal data is processed.
Wojciech Wiewiórowski (EDPS), was appointed by a joint decision of the European Parliament and the Council on to serve a five-year term, beginning on 6 December 2019.
Personal information or data: any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural (living) person. Examples include names, dates of birth, photographs, video footage, email addresses and telephone numbers. Other details, such as IP addresses and communications content - related to or provided by end-users of communications services - are also considered as personal data.
Privacy: the right of an individual to be left alone and in control of information about his or herself. The right to privacy or private life is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 12), the European Convention of Human Rights (Article 8) and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights (Article 7). The Charter also contains an explicit right to the protection of personal data (Article 8).
Processing of personal data: According to Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) No 679/2016, processing of personal data refers to “any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction." See the glossary on the EDPS website.
The powers of the EDPS are clearly outlined in Article 58 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.