Big data, big brother? How to secure Europeans’ safety and privacy

Terrorism and organised crime are a serious threat to Europe. The European Union is better placed to deal with trans-national crime and terrorists moving across borders than individual member-states. To face this growing threat, the EU needs to adopt security measures. Some of these measures (such as the use of data to trace and track how terrorists are financed, how they travel and how they communicate) have far-reaching implications for citizens’ privacy. •As it tries to find more effective ways to combat terrorism at the European level, the EU has been struggling to find the right balance between privacy and security. There are two main reasons why: the EU’s institutional and legal framework for dealing with security issues is inadequate; and debates on security and privacy are distorted by Europe’s love/hate relationship with the US, which extends to American multinational companies.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Fighting terrorism at EU level, an overview of Commission's actions, measures and initiatives http://www.europeansources.info/record/fighting-terrorism-at-eu-level-an-overview-of-commissions-actions-measures-and-initiatives/

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