A recent press release shared a joint statement by Vice-President Jourová and Commissioner Reynders ahead of Data Protection Day. It says, “Data is becoming increasingly important for our economy and for our daily lives. With the roll-out of 5G and uptake of the Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things technologies, personal data will be in abundance and with potential uses we probably can’t imagine. While this offers amazing opportunities, some cases show that robust rules are needed to address clear risks for individuals and for our democracies. In Europe we know that strong data protection rules are not a luxury, but a necessity. In the EU we have proudly become a global reference point for strong data protection rules, based on enforceable rights and independent and robust enforcement.”

The statement continues, “20 months after the entry into application of the landmark General Data Protection Regulation, we see that the GDPR has acted as a catalyst to put data protection at the centre of many of the on-going policy debates. It is a cornerstone of the European approach underpinning several political priorities of the new Commission promoting a human centric approach to Artificial Intelligence and other digital technologies. European Data Protection rules will therefore be a foundation and inspiration for the success of key initiatives in artificial intelligence, health or mobility to name just a few. Citizens have become more aware of their rights and businesses are increasingly making use of their data protection credentials as an argument vis-à-vis their customers. Thanks to data protection awareness raising campaigns, over 1.7 million businesses and citizens visited the web guidance on the new rules in 2019 developed by the Commission… However, our priority and that of everyone involved should be to foster a harmonised and consistent implementation of data protection rules throughout the EU.”

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