EU Data Watchdog Sounds Alarm on AI and Mass Surveillance Risk in 2023 Privacy Report
Brussels – The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), Wojciech Wiewiórowski, presented his institution’s Annual Report 2023 today, underlining the EDPS’s ability to adjust to a constantly changing digital and regulatory environment.
Wojciech Wiewiórowski, EDPS, said: “The year 2023 has been one of adaptability in light of digital and regulatory advancements. More than ever, multilateral and cross-border collaboration have proved crucial to achieve and elevate data protection standards in the EU and beyond. As we move to 2024, coinciding with the EDPS’ 20th Anniversary, my institution’s role is to anticipate and prepare for the data protection challenges of the next two decades”.
Speaking before the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee and at his Press Conference today, Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiórowski detailed his actions demonstrating this important skill.
The report, launched at the European Parliament, details the EDPS’s activities throughout 2023. A key focus of the report is the increased support offered to EU lawmakers on initiatives such as the accelerated development and mainstream use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the digital euro, financial services, and cybersecurity. The EDPS has emphasised ensuring these initiatives uphold citizens’ fundamental rights to data protection and privacy.
The EDPS also highlighted its work in supervising the EU’s Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, along with international transfers of personal data and technological advancements. Looking forward, the report outlines the EDPS’s priorities for the coming year.
These include supervising and enforcing data protection regulations, implementing the AI Act, and fostering international cooperation on data privacy challenges. Aiming for global data protection standards that mirror the EU’s data protection values and principles, the EDPS also championed a number of initiatives in the field of AI, such as leading the 45th Global Privacy Assembly Resolution on Generative Artificial Intelligence Systems.
The report also reveals the EDPS’s ongoing concerns regarding the proposed Regulation on Child Sexual Abuse Material. The EDPS has continue to warn the public and EU lawmakers about large-scale communication scanning proposed in the regulation, fearing it could lead to a permanent state of societal surveillance.
2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the EDPS, and the report acknowledges this milestone. The EDPS plans to celebrate this anniversary by hosting the “European Data Protection Summit: Rethinking Data in a Democratic Society” in Brussels on June 20th. This summit will provide a platform to reflect on past achievements and chart a course for the future of data protection in Europe.
