Activities of Ana GOMES related to 2016/2225(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas the pervasiveness of sensors, extensive routine data production and contemporary data-processing activities are characterised by a high degree of opacity, which hinders the capacity of citizens and authorities to assess the processes and purpose of the collection, compilation, analysis and use of personal data, along with the appropriateness of security measures and safeguards applied for its protection or lack thereof;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

E a. (new) whereas the generalised use of smart devices, networks and web applications by citizens, businesses and organisations cannot be considered an indication of satisfaction with the products offered, but rather a general resignation with the fact that these services have become indispensable to live, communicate and work, despite the lack of understanding of the risks they might entail to our well being, security and rights;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)

E b. (new) whereas the concentration of large datasets produced by new technologies offers crucial information for large corporations, which triggers unprecedented shifts in the balance of power between citizens, governments and private actors; whereas such concentration of power in the hands of corporations might consolidate monopolies and abusive practices, and have a detrimental effect in consumers' rights and in fair market competition;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas biased algorithms and other analytical tools, low quality of data, spurious correlations, errors, the underestimation of legal, social and ethical implications and the marginalisation of the role of humans in these processes can trigger flawed decision-making procedures, with a detrimental impact on our societies, the lives and opportunities of citizens, and in particular for marginalised groups;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

F a. (new) Whereas data analysis and algorithms increasingly impact on the information made accessible to citizens; whereas such techniques, if misused, may endanger fundamental rights to information and well as media freedom and pluralism; whereas the system of public broadcasting in Member States is directly related to the democratic, social and cultural needs of each society and to the need to preserve media pluralism, as stated in the Protocol on the system of public broadcasting in the Member States to the Amsterdam Treaty (11997D/PRO/09);

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the proliferation of data processing and analytics, the multitude of actors involved in collecting, retaining, processing and sharing data and the combination of large data sets containing personal data from a variety of sources, retained for unlimited amounts of time, have all created great uncertainty for both citizens and businesses over the specific requirements for compliance with general data-protection ~~principles~~law, namely the levels of safeguards granted by the principles of data minimisation, fairness, consent, access, lawful processing, portability, purpose limitation, accuracy, retention limitation and security;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

G a. (new) whereas there are a lot of unstructured legacy systems of vast volumes of data, that companies have been collecting for years, with unclear data governance systems, that need to systematically be brought into compliance;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Emphasises that information revealed by big data analysis does not offer an objective and impartial overview of any subject matter and is only as reliable as the underlying data permits, and that strong scientific and ethical standards are therefore needed for judging the results of such analysis and its predictive algorithms;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. (new) Notes that education and awareness over fundamental rights is urgently needed in the EU; urges the EU and Member States to invest in digital literacy and awareness-raising of digital rights, privacy and data protection among citizens, including children; underlines that this type of education needs to address the understanding of the principles/logic of how algorithms and automated decision-making processes work and how to interpret them in a meaningful way; further notes the need to educate on fostering understanding on where and how data streams are collected (i.e. web scraping, combining streaming data with data of social networks and connected devices and aggregating that into a new data stream);

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Points out that the border between personal and non-personal data is getting more and more blurred through the technological possibility to generate personal data through the analysis of non-personal data and that the General Data Protection Regulation does not fully cover this phenomenon;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2 b. (new) Highlights that big data- types of processing of personal data, which often encompass indefinite periods of retention of data without a specific identified purpose, are contrary to the data protection principles of purpose limitation and limits on retention; alerts therefore that such data processing and retention is only allowed under EU law if the data is properly anonymised, and where there is no risk of re-identification under likely and reasonable means;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2 c. Believes that large public and private investment is needed to develop and make the most of Privacy Enhancing Technologies; believes that the incorporation of such technologies could grant enormous competitive advantage to EU businesses and services; calls for a concerted public and private strategy to enhance the EU as a world leader in this field;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Takes the view that transparency, fairness, accountability and control over personal data are core values through which specific rights and obligations are derived, and which should guide the action of corporations, public authorities and other actors that use data to frame their decision-making procedures; emphasises the need for much greater transparency with regard to the logic of data processing and analytics by businesses, as an essential tool to guarantee the individuals' informed and meaningful consent over the use of their personal data, which often entails long periods of retention and repurposing;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Takes the view that transparency, fairness, lawfulness, accountability and control over personal data are core values through which specific rights and obligations are derived, and which should guide the action of corporations, public authorities and other actors that use data to frame their decision-making procedures; emphasises the need for much greater transparency with regard to data processing and analytics by businesses, public authorities and any other actors that use big data analytics;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. (new) Notes with concern that current models of giving consent by consumers, expressed through the acceptance by data subjects of complex, long and unintelligible Terms and Obligations, do not comply with the standards of EU law; highlights, in this context, the need to ensure, through transparency of the logic of data processing, the ability of the consumer to make autonomous decisions regarding their preferences and choices;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Highlights the fundamental role that the Commission, the European Data Protection Board and other independent supervisory authorities should play in the coming years and decades to promote legal certainty concerning concrete standards protecting fundamental rights and guarantees associated with the use of data processing and analytics; further highlights the urgent need for more, and also informal, forms of cooperation between the industry, the regulators, the Commission and the legislator, as requested by the industry, in order to foster the culture of compliance and facilitate the processes to find more methods to create privacy and data protection by design and default, and to discuss current issues;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. (new) Is particularly concerned with the detrimental impact that data analytics may have on fairness and equality of opportunities for access to education and employment due to the use of algorithmic systems to recruit and score applications, which may counter diversity and perpetuate biases and discrimination against some populations groups;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7 b. Calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure that data-driven technologies do not narrow down or discriminate access to a pluralistic media environment, but rather foster media freedom and pluralism; emphasises that cooperation between governments, educational institutions and media organisations will play a pivotal role in ensuring that digital media literacy is supported to empower citizens and protect their rights to information and to freedom of expression;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7 c. (new) Notes that the GDPR contains specific safeguards which could help tackle the market imbalances in the digital sector, namely the enforcement, by DPAs, of data minimisation, the right of individuals to receive information regarding the logic involved in automated decision-making and profiling and the fact that DPAs and consumer authorities may advise competition authorities on mergers in the digital sector; takes the view that responsibilities for businesses must take into account factors like the companies' market power and the kind of data processing used and its risks; is concerned by the concentration of markets in the digital sector, which may increase prices and lead to arbitrary price discrimination by private operators, based on the analysis of large amounts of data ; stresses in this regard, that the enforcement of data portability under GDPR is crucial to reverse this trend in the market, whereby the data subject should be allowed to receive personal data concerning him or her which he or she has provided to a controller in a structured, commonly used, machine- readable and interoperable format, and to transmit it to another controller, i.e., a competitor;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 d (new)

7 d. (new) Acknowledges the positive impact of smart devices and big data in improving access by citizens to information of public interest and the interaction of individuals with public authorities, thereby improving levels of public scrutiny, inclusive governance and democratic participation, accountability and the rule of law; calls on the EU and Member States to ensure that open, free and machine readable non personal data is available, by default, over issues of public interest and which may be used by citizens, businesses and organisations for various purposes;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 e (new)

7 e. (new) Takes the view that publication of personal data by public authorities for reasons of public interest, such as the prevention of corruption, conflicts of interest, tax fraud and money laundering, may be admissible in a democratic society, provided that the data is disclosed in conditions laid down by law, that the appropriate safeguards are in place and that such publication is necessary to the aim pursued and proportionate;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Acknowledges that data loss and theft, infection by malware, unauthorised access to data and unlawful surveillance are some of the most pressing risks associated with contemporary data processing activities, such as big data techniques; believes that tackling such threats requires genuine and concerted cooperation between the private sector, governments, law enforcement authorities and independent supervisory authorities; calls for strengthening investment into privacy by design and default and new encryption techniques that decentralise storage of compromising information; stresses that such measures should not only be applied by big companies and governmental agencies, but by all actors involved in big data analytics, including SMEs, and other actors dealing with sensitive data, such as lawyers, journalists and people working in the health sector;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Union and the Member States to identify and minimise algorithmic discrimination and bias and to develop a strong and common ethics framework for the processing of personal data and automated decision-making;urges the EU and Member States to define and adopt, as far as possible, a simple, explicit and common ethical framework that may guide data usage and the ongoing enforcement of EU law;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9 a. (now) Notes that discriminatory results may arise from several stages of data processing and analysis, from choosing the datasets and algorithms used to make predictions, to the definition and interpretation of the information to be obtained through the data analysis;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9 b. (new) Recommends that businesses conduct regular assessments of how representative the data sets are, consider whether biases are being incorporated and develop strategies to overcome those biases; highlights the need to review how accurate and meaningful predictions based on data analytics are, having ethics concerns and fairness in mind;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. ~~Encourage~~Reminds all law enforcement actors that use data processing and analytics t~~o ensure appropriate human intervention throughout the various stages of the processing and analysis of data, especially when decisions may carry~~ hat the data protection directive of 2016 prohibits to base any decision solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces an adverse legal effect concerning the data subject or significantly affects him or her, unless authorised by Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject and whigch ~~risks for individuals~~provides appropriate safeguards for the rights and freedoms of the data subject, at least the right to obtain human intervention on the part of the controller;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10 a. Stresses the prohibition to process personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation, unless suitable measures to safeguard the data subject's rights and freedoms and legitimate interests are in place;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10 a. (new) Notes that the potential of data processing and analytics in tackling crime, and especially certain types of criminal activities, still needs to be scientifically assessed, despite the growing trend to adopt predictive technologies to prevent crime and redirect police resources based on information provided by these technologies;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10 b. Stresses the need to put in place appropriate safeguards including the provision of specific information to the data subject and the right to obtain human intervention, in particular to express his or her point of view, to obtain an explanation of the decision reached after such assessment or to challenge the decision; and that control through an independent and sufficiently staffed and financed authority has to be ensured;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses, in particular, the importance of carrying out prior impact assessments and audits that take account of ethical concerns in order to assess the inclusiveness, accuracy and quality of the data and the quality of the technology purchased, and to ensure that individuals targeted by the decisions and/or actors involved in the decision-making processes are able to challenge the analysis, patterns and correlations and to prevent any harmful effects on certain groups of individuals; further underlines the need to ensure that only the minimum necessary data is collected, used and stored;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12 a. (new) Stresses the need for guidelines and systems to be incorporated into public tenders for law enforcement data processing models, tools and programs in order to guarantee that the underlying code can be and is checked by the law enforcement authority themselves prior to final purchase and can be verified for its correctness and security;

2016/12/19
Committee: LIBE