The arguments currently going on about the how citizens might expect their rights to be upheld by the "One
Stop Shop" point in one direction – perhaps the only way to end the potential
for bickering between the data protection regulators of each EU member state
will be to impose a single regulatory authority on any EU country that wishes
to remain within the EU.
As Europeans (generally) use the same
currency to pay for their goods and services, then they ought to be able to use the same tools to protect their
privacy rights, too.
This is probably why it has taken so long
for agreement to be reached on who should next be appointed European Data Protection
Supervisor, as I suspect that the endgame is for the EDPS to supervise a good
deal more than just the European institutions.
Will this be a problem?
Certainly not for those who believe in the
European dream, of a European superstate, headquartered in Brussels, with
satellite offices in what will eventually become “former independent
countries.”
This vision provides citizens with an
equivalent layer of protection wherever they live. Their fundamental rights
(whatever this actually means in practice) will be equally protected, regardless of whether an incident occurs
in Cyprus, Poland or Latvia.
And a single, mighty regulator, might start
to be a match for the global data controllers, who might feel slightly more
constrained in how they engage with European customers.
As Freddie put it:
One dream
One soul, one prize
One goal. One golden glance of what should
be
It’s a kind of magic
One shaft of light that shows the way
No mortal man can win this day
It’s a kind of magic
(You get my drift)
Quite how plucky nationalists might respond
to a single Data Protection authority is not clear. Will they be outraged at
what they could perceive to be another loss of sovereignty? Another lump carved
out of the subsidiarity principle? Or will they grudgingly accept that if
rights are to be granted by a European Parliament to grateful European citizens, then they all ought to
be able to exercise these rights in equal measure, regardless of the attitudes
taken by their national Governments?
In the end, I suppose it depends on whether
citizens feel more comfortable with their rights being upheld by someone
they’ve possibly heard of (like the ICO), rather than a more remote set of
officials who they will hardly ever get to see (even on TV) because of the huge
territory they would be expected to cover.
Just what is it we want from our
regulators? Currently I sense there are a range of cultural approaches to the art of public regulation within Europe.
Do we want someone who we can engage with, or someone
who will just tell us that we’ve done wrong?
I know what I would like – but I also think
I know what I’m more likely to get, should a single European regulatory authority
emerge.
Image credit:
http://www.queenwords.com/images/singles/akom.jpg
.
.
Posts
