On Monday 8 July, European Commissioner Věra Jourová and two ministers from Chile discussed how the European Union and Chile could strengthen their current cooperation in the area of data protection and data flows. Following the meeting, a joint press statement was released covering the cooperation of the EU and Chile on data protection.
It was agreed that Chile and the EU share common values when it comes to developing a strategic partnership that will stress the protection of personal data as a fundamental right. Furthermore, it was also agreed that in an increasingly data-driven economy, the key central factor of gaining citizen’s trust is classifying personal data privacy as a fundamental right. If this is dealt with properly, then data can be used as an enabler of economic growth and innovation instead of a source of fear and mistrust.
In accordance to the recent G20 Leaders’ Declaration to promote data free flow, the joint statement acknowledged the potential high levels of privacy in data security can enable data flows and trades, as well as contribute to effective judicial cooperation between authorities. Overall, there is a readiness to enhance cooperation both bilaterally and multilaterally through the promotion of strong data protection.
The statement finished with a commitment to continue strengthening the cooperation on both a political and technical level while simultaneously promoting innovation.
Following this joint statement, Commissioner Jourová delivered the keynote speech at the University of Chile. In her speech, the Commissioner explained how the EU and Chile shared many common values. The Commissioner went on to elaborate the many difficulties both entities are now facing due to the problems the tech giants have created in terms of personal privacy. She claimed to have two simple principles; one being that what is illegal offline should also be illegal online, and the second being that we should be careful not the over regulation as legislation might not be the best answer.
Europe as a whole as decided that technology should be human-centered and value-based. Ms Jourová touched on the success of the GDPR in terms of European attempts at returning control of personal data back to data subjects. The GDPR is now a year old, and the Commissioner stated it has already seen great success in unifying laws of Member States and protecting people even beyond EU citizenship. Furthermore, it has been beneficial for companies as it provided a business opportunity to build trust and provide security. She urged Chile to consider implementing a law of the same caliber for that reason.
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