A New Era Begins at the EDPS

On Monday, March 2, the new European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) Giovanni Buttarelli and Assistant Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiórowski presented their strategic plan for the next five years. Entitled “The EDPS Strategy 2015-2019: Leading by Example,” the document represents a key moment in the work of the EU’s leading data protection regulator.

In the 11 years since Peter Hustinx originally established it, the EDPS has come to enjoy a worldwide reputation both for policy work and for its supervision of data protection in EU institutions. The fact that there is a “changing of the guard” in its leadership has led to great interest in the EDPS’ new strategic plan. The new EDPS strategy paper follows a vision “for the EU to lead by example as a beacon of respect for data protection and privacy and to speak with single, credible and informed voice on fundamental rights in the digital world”. It identifies three major strategic objectives (namely “data protection goes digital,“ “forging global partnerships,” and “opening a new chapter for EU data protection”) and 10 action items.

[Christopher Kuner is Senior Privacy Counsel in the Brussels office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati]