BRUSSELS — December 17, 2015 — BSA | The Software Alliance takes note of the political agreement reached on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by the European Parliament and the Council, but remains concerned that the new legislation will fail to fully achieve its initial goals and objectives.

BSA and its Members have always been strong supporters of privacy protections, as it is not simply a matter of compliance for companies; privacy is also a market differentiator. However, the agreement reached yesterday missed the opportunity to adapt EU privacy rules to the digital era, and to further bolster innovation and Europe’s data economy. The agreement failed to strike the necessary balance between privacy requirements and long-term economic concerns.  In doing so, it is likely to hamper the industry’s ability to provide economic growth and create jobs.

As Members States and Data Protection Authorities will now focus on the practical implementation of the new rules, BSA is looking forward to working with them to find balanced, long-term and practical solutions that will benefit both citizens and companies and achieve the ambitious objectives set out in the European Commission’s Digital Single Market Strategy.