Europe and US at loggerheads over data protection

The latest round of talks between the EU and the US over data protection regulations ended yesterday without agreement.

The two sides are at loggerheads, with the EU insisting that the US comply with European data protection law, and the US convinced that self-regulation can provide the same level of protection.

The EU's representative at the Washington talks, John Mogg, welcomed an initiative from the US Better Business Bureau - called BBBOnline - but was still concerned about issues of enforcement and individual access to private information. The BBBOnline scheme would scrutinise companies' data protection policies and award a mark of approval.

Adrian Friend, interim European director of Truste, a US industry body that supports self-regulation, said the difference between the two stances is fundamentally difficult to resolve. "It really boils down to how you look after your consumers," he said. "European consumers are used to looking to government to deal with these issues. In the US, the consumer would rather rely on themselves and on third parties."

The UK's data protection registrar, Elizabeth France, warned that whatever deal is struck with the US needs to be applicable to other nations. Countries like Russia and China will eventually be going through similar negotiations with the EU on data protection.

"We don't want to reach an agreement that might only be okay in context, because it will be there on the table for other countries," she explained.

Negotiations will re-open in early April.