The Belgian Privacy Commission recently released a report on big data, available in Dutch and French. Comments can be submitted until noon on 11 April 2017 by post (Drukpersstraat 35, 1000 Brussels) or e-mail (commission@privacycommission.be).
The Privacy Commission acknowledges the need for legal certainty with regard to the application to big data of the current and future privacy and data protection rules and considers it a challenge to ensure that these rules and principles are effective in the context of big data analytics. The intention is not to unnecessarily restrict the use of such new technologies which often prove very useful for society.
In order to meet this challenge, the Privacy Commission has formulated 33 concrete recommendations on how to apply data protection principles to big data. These recommendations cover all aspects of data protection compliance, such as adherence to data protection principles, fulfilment of information obligations, and respect for the rights of data subjects.
This report is a step in the right direction and provides useful guidance on how to reconcile big data with the GDPR.
