BIG DATA : ARE ECONOMIC STAKES AND DATA PROTECTION COMPATIBLE?

The European Union is focused less on big data than on protection of personal data, a fundamental right under severe strain in today's digital world dominated by American internet giants. At the same time, the EU laments the absence of European champions along the lines of Google, Facebook or Amazon, which have turned data into a new "black gold".

That being the case, are economic stakes and citizens' data protection concerns compatible? Not for corporate lobbies in Brussels, in any case, at least not as members of the European Parliament define such compatibility. BusinessEurope was quick to predict a "serious negative impact on innovation and growth" after the vote by the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE), on 21 October, on the draft regulation on personal data protection (presented in January 2012). At issue in particular are citizens' rights to delete their data and give 'explicit consent" to its processing for commercial purposes, matched with stiff fines against companies infringing the legislation. The business world relies on a weighty argument: processing and transfer of personal data are the foundations of the digital economy sought by the EU.

Given market realities, even those in favour of stronger privacy protection are not very reassured. Experts from the French government, in a country where the privacy authority (CNIL) is fighting against alleged abusive practices by Google, conclude that there is a certain degree of incompatibility between the regulation proposed by the European Commission...