Jetty Tielemans writes:
At a recent presentation in Frankfurt, Peter Hustinx, head of the European Data Protection Supervisor Office in Brussels, launched an intriguing idea: sanctioning violations of data protection law in the same manner as violations of competition law.
The trade press regularly reports on multi-million euro fines for cartels or abuses of dominant positions by companies under the competition rules of the European Union. These figures are far away from the fines that currently can be levied for data protection violations. Observers of the competition law scene will agree that the main reason that companies operating in the EU pay attention to competition law is the astronomic fines that can – and are – levied.
Read more on Covington & Burling’s Inside Privacy.