By Pia Heikkila, 10 January 2001 18:15
NEWS To date, only 12 American companies have agreed to comply with EU data protection laws, according to the US Department of Commerce website. The American Software Information Industry Association (SIIA) has established an awareness campaign to promote the Safe Harbour agreement, but acknowledges interest has been low since its launch in October. Lauren Hall, executive vice president of the SIIA, said the low interest is due to the complex implementation of the agreement: "To be compliant with data protection laws in multiple countries at the same time cannot be done overnight. Also, many companies are just waiting to see what others are doing first." Christopher Upton, executive chairman of UK-based internet watchdog Clicksure, said US companies are not aware the agreement exists: "The awareness among US businesses is very poor, and even if you are aware the companies are not aware of what they are expected to do. One option would be to utilise the subsidiaries of US companies which are located in Europe to utilise as a mouthpiece for the agreement," he said. Safe Harbour is a voluntary programme encouraging US companies to adhere to EU data protection principles. Under the agreement, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provides enforcement back-up for privacy violations, but the industry relies largely on self-regulation.
In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.
Log in or create your silicon.com account below