Live Blogging from Madrid Privacy Confabs: EU-Wide Data Breach Notification Requirement a Real Possibility

In advance of the global meeting of data protection authorities starting tomorrow in Madrid, the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) are hosting side events today at the conference hotel.

The biggest news so far, discussed at the IAPP event,  is that the European Commission is seriously considering  new  data security breach notification laws. Previously, the Commission and  the European Council had focused only on breaches at telecom companies and ISPs.

 

The Commission’s Information Society Commissioner, Viviane Reding,  now has said that new EU-wide legislation requiring all entities to notify individuals and authorities of breaches is seriously under consideration.

 

Thus, EU compliance officers are paying rapt attention to the discussion by the Americans here of how to comply with data security breach laws.