German MEP Axel Voss, one of the strongest proponents of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) firmly believes that it’s time to give it an overhaul.
GDPR was passed in 2016 and is hailed as one of the most significant privacy-related legislations with equally vocal supporters and detractors. However in an interview with the Financial Times, Voss argues that that GDPR isn’t ready to tackle the challenges of the current environment.
“We have to be aware that GDPR is not made for blockchain, facial or voice recognition, text and data mining [ . . . ] artificial intelligence,” Voss told FT.
Compliance minefield
The timing of the interview is significant as it comes just ahead of a vote by the UK Parliament to celebrate GDPR as a “gold standard for the world”.
In Voss’ opinion GDPR requires “some type of surgery” to take into account the shift to the new work from home environment that’s brought with it a new set of technical compliance challenges that didn’t exist before the Covid-19 induced pandemic. He argues that GDPR is a compliance “minefield” for organizations that have a remote workforce.
“If you have a home office situation and you’re dealing with personal data, you are left alone with numerous legal obligations that are difficult to understand. What are the requirements for dealing with data protection in a private home?” Voss reasons.
Voss says his views are shared by the European People’s Party (EPP) coalition that also includes German chancellor Angela Merkel.
Via: Financial Times
