‘Europe wants to investigate independence of Belgian privacy regulator’ – IT Pro – News

The European Commission wants to take action against the Belgian Data Protection Authority. The privacy supervisor would not meet the requirements of independence for compliance with the GDPR. Several board members of the GBA are said to be involved in the government.

It’s officially about an infringement procedure, a means by which the European Commission can force government institutions in EU countries to better follow European legislation. Politico writes that the EC is planning to start such a procedure this week against the Data Protection Authority, the official privacy regulator of Belgium. The site relies on sources within the research.

The GBA would not meet the requirement in the AVG that states that a supervisor must be independent from the government. Three board members of the GBA would provide ministers with information about following the GDPR while writing legislative proposals. Two of them would have resigned by now, but a third, Frank Robben, would still be active at the regulator.

There is also a fourth panelist, Bart Preneel, who sits on a committee that makes decisions about data sharing in the public sector. He is also active at the GBA. According to Politico, both board members say their positions will not affect the regulator’s independence.

The European Commission starts the investigation by first sending a letter to the regulator. The GBA has two months to respond. Earlier, the Data Protection Authority said it complied with the rules regarding independence.

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