Deirdre Clune (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to ascertain the steps being taken to ensure that personal data is afforded a greater level of security on the Internet. This question is exercising many people at this point and the Edward Snowden scandal was a wake-up call with regard to what can happen with the sharing and usage of data for inappropriate purposes. It is again a question of what is inappropriate, which is anybody's guess. I make a distinction between information provided for security reasons and that which relates to personal data. A European Commission survey confirms 72% of Europeans do not feel in control of the data they have disclosed on social network sites and 90% indicate that having their data protection rights respected whenever data is collected or processed is very important. That is clear.

Since the Snowden affair we have heard from Commissioner Reding that she has put strong rules on the table that will ensure companies offering products and services to European customers will have to play by European rules, even if the companies are based in the US, Asia, India or anywhere else. National data protection authorities will be able to sanction firms that violate the rules. There is a difference between how the US and EU, for example, regulate data privacy, and that has been recognised for a long time. In the US, data can be processed unless the act is specifically prohibited but in the EU, personal data cannot be processed unless the task is specially authorised. There is a difference but companies outside the EU work here under the guise of guidelines and self-regulation; we need to get to a point where companies outside the EU but operating within the Union and providing services abide by EU regulations, laws and rules rather than those from the home country.

It is an important issue and Commissioner Reding has indicated strong rules have been put on the table to control the matter. Will the Minister of State detail Ireland's view on this and how we will move forward in the area? We have guidelines and proposals from Commissioner Reding but we need to act swiftly to give users of the Internet confidence that their personal data is not being used or abused for services they do not want. I accept that information is needed for security reasons in the fight against terrorism - we all need to feel safe and secure on our streets - but private data can be used by companies for reasons other than that for which it was surrendered in the first place. We need to move swiftly, as the media reaction following the Snowden affair has alarmed many people and suggested that private data is not secure.