- Parliament elects new data protection officer Adrian Lobsiger via confirmation concept, despite concerns about proximity to the administration and lack of tech experience.
- Key challenges: Big data, open data, e‑patient dossiers, global data transfer and the upcoming revision of the Data Protection Act.
NZZ of 2.3.2016: Federal Data Protection Officer – The Choice That Is Not One
In two weeks, Parliament will elect the new Data Protection and Public Information Commissioner, the successor to Hanspeter Thür, an independent campaigner for data protection and the principle of public access. To speak of an “election” is an exaggeration, however, because there is no real choice of candidates. It is rather a confirmation (or rejection) of the candidate proposed by the Federal Council: Adrian Lobsiger, deputy director of the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol). In the run-up, various parliamentarians expressed doubts about Lobsiger’s ability to make the transition from “data collector” to data protector. They criticized his proximity to the administration and his lack of experience in dealing with new technologies. […]
The Parliamentary Judicial Commission has formally approved the election procedure and recommends the official candidate for election “without dissenting vote”. Nevertheless, there were a considerable number of abstentions, as commission president Roland Eberle confirms. […]
In fact, this is how the election procedure is anchored in the Data Protection Act. Parliamentarians from the left to the right now want to change this. Appropriate proposals are in the pipeline. […]
In the background, Grüter is trying to prevent Lobsiger from being elected. But he is likely to be in a losing position. Although the SVP faction only supports the only candidate with a narrow majority, the SP and FDP factions have backed him by a large majority. On Tuesday, the CVP also came out in favor of Lobsiger without any dissenting votes. Even with the Greens, he left “a surprisingly good impression” in the hearing, according to Glättli. […]
The main challenges in data protection
[…]These are the great challenges for the future data protector:
- Big data: Data is becoming a raw material. In the future, it will not only be possible to store data for specific purposes, but also to link and evaluate it in large quantities from various sources – for example, for efficient and safe road traffic. Big data represents great economic potential, but it also threatens privacy when information from different areas of life is systematically structured, collected and evaluated.
- Open data: The authorities have valuable data resources that should be made available to the public. Personal data is not typically part of this, but if information about the use of public transport services, for example, is linked to other data, it may be possible to establish a personal connection.
- Digitization is increasingly shaping the healthcare system. The rule here is that the better the exchange of information between doctors, hospitals and laboratories, the better the quality of treatment. But insurance companies are also interested in health data. Against this background, how transparent should patients become? In the next few years, the law on electronic patient files will be implemented. Data protection officers will have certain supervisory duties.
- Global data traffic: Google, Facebook and Amazon transfer data and trade in it globally. But the understanding of data protection differs from continent to continent. In the USA, data protection is fragmented by law, and basic digital rights are less pronounced than in Europe. Last fall, the European Court of Justice declared the so-called “Safe Harbor Agreement,” which regulates data exchange between the EU and the U.S., invalid. The ruling will also have an impact on Swiss data protection legislation.
- Revision of the Data Protection Act: The Federal Council announced the revision last year. A preliminary draft is to be adopted by fall 2016 at the latest, with data protection to be strengthened and, in particular, developments at European level to be taken into account.