US: Europeans’ privacy is better protected

The US privacy law will also apply to residents of the European Union. That is what the US Attorney General promises. It is the first time that US privacy law applies to persons other than US residents.

US Attorney General Eric Holder has promised legislation that will be sent to the US parliament, according to The Guardian. Currently, Americans are well protected under US privacy law, but there is hardly any protection for non-Americans. That will change, Holder promises.

As far as we know, the change only applies to residents of the European Union, and not to other non-Americans, who, like Europeans, frequently use American cloud services. Moreover, it is unclear whether the change will affect espionage by the American secret services: it is much easier for them to request data from non-Americans than from residents of the US.

It is clear that Europeans can complain more easily if an American company infringes on their privacy or if information about them in an American database is incorrect. Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner for Justice, calls the promise ‘an important step in the right direction’, but notes that the promise only means something if it is converted into legislation.