ITI: EU Policymakers Should Implement Pragmatic, Innovation Friendly GDPR Application
BRUSSELS – In new comments (opens in a new tab) to the European Commission’s five-year review of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), global tech trade association ITI called for a more proportionate and pragmatic application of Europe’s cornerstone data framework. ITI’s comments (opens in a new tab) underscore the GDPR’s significant impact and key role in shaping data governance practices in the EU and globally over the past five years.
ITI also highlights the complex legal challenges GDPR has posed for all businesses and offers recommendations for improvement that avoid adopting changes to GDPR’s legislative text.
“Rather than pursuing a full-scale overhaul of the GDPR during the next Commission term, we urge EU policymakers to focus on targeted guidance that support data innovation and increase legal certainty for businesses and consumers,” said ITI Director General for Europe Guido Lobrano. “A broad reopening of the GDPR would contradict the Commission’s overall goal of strong data governance practices.”
ITI encourages the Commission and EU Data Protection Authorities to:
- Incentivize a more proportionate and pragmatic application of the rules focusing on consumer outcomes. This includes further recognition of GDPR’s risk-based approach, working more with the industry to improve outcomes, and providing further legal certainty on core GDPR concepts such as data processing legal bases.
- Foster a more flexible framework for international data transfers that maintains high standards while recognizing various legitimate global approaches to data protection. This includes encouraging the use of diverse GDPR transfer tools, including certifications and codes of conduct so that more scalable global solutions can be found.
- GDPR needs to align with other EU data frameworks such as the AI Act, Digital Markets Act, Digital Services Act and Data Act. This involves greater collaboration with industry and global fora to move forward in a cohesive and proportionate way when it comes to approaches to personal and non-personal data, emerging technologies, and uniformity in enforcement.
Read ITI’s full response here. (opens in a new tab)
Last month, ITI released its policy guide, Vision 2030: How to Enable Innovation and Ensure Competitiveness and Resilience Across Europe, which outlines strategic recommendations for the European Union’s next mandate, including the ongoing implementation of the GDPR. Read Vision 2030 here (opens in a new tab).