14 DAY TRIAL // The European Union is fighting back against NSA surveillance after new data protection laws were voted by lawmakers.
US spying activities should be curbed by the new rules that make the country’s secret court orders powerless, as all companies need to comply to local rules while operating in countries member of the European Union.
That means that companies such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook and Microsoft will now have to comply to European data protection laws if they are to operate locally and fines as large as billions of Euros could be applied to discourage the Internet giants to disregard the EU.
The draft was passed by the Committee on Civil Liberties on Monday. It had previously been proposed several years back, but Washington lobbying delayed the vote. However, recent reports following Edward Snowden’s leaks have brought the rules back into the center of attention.
“The European Parliament has just given its full backing to a strong and uniform European data protection law that will cut costs for businesses and strengthen the protection of our citizens: one continent, one law,” said EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, as quoted by Reuters.
Before the rules become law, however, there’s still a way to go as it has to be approved by the Parliament’s plenary as well as the EU’s 28 member countries.
Reactions in Europe were pretty harsh following reports about the NSA surveillance programs, particularly since the US was so concerned with reassuring all its citizens that everything was in their own best interest. And while Americans should be protected by their constitution against the NSA (which hasn’t really happened), citizens from the rest of the world are left out in the open.