Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On May 23, 2016, half of the EU Member States sent a letter to the European Commission and the Netherlands (which holds the rotating presidency), seeking the removal of barriers to the free flow of data both within and outside the EU to benefit the EU from new data-driven technologies, according to Reuters and EurActive.com.

The countries behind the letter include Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia and Sweden. The letter urged Brussels to avoid regulations that are seen as a barrier to the development of data-driven technologies, and to avoid “one size fits all” rules for online platforms.

This request comes in anticipation of the European Commission’s presentation on May 25 of the results of an online inquiry into online platforms and potential future actions that may be needed. The inquiry is in connection with the EU’s Digital Single Market strategy, an EU initiative to enhance and make the EU’s digital economy competitive.