Intergraf reminds European Council of key concerns in advance of data protection meeting

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Intergraf has sent a position paper to the presidents of the Council of Justice and Home Affairs outlining the industry’s concerns on EU Data Protection reform. This comes in advance of a European Council meeting next week, which could prove decisive. The meeting aims to find a general agreement on reform of data protection legislation.

This is a key issue for the graphic industry, in particular companies who are involved in direct mail. This position paper reminds the Council of Intergraf’s three biggest issues.

1)    Rejecting a prior consent approach to direct marketing
2)    Securing the right of printing companies to process data on behalf of their companies
3)    Avoiding excessive requirements on profiling creating a disproportionate administrative burden for SMES

Beatrice Klose, Secretary General of Intergraf states: “We have been working on this issue since 2011 to safeguard the industry’s estimated €15bn turnover directly related to direct mail. We must ensure that printers can continue handling their customers’ data. This enables printing companies to offer more and better services for their customers. The legislative procedure is reaching a decisive phase. Europe must secure a balanced act that protects individuals’ rights but recognizes legitimate business activities and doesn’t stymie the competitiveness of the industry.”

If agreement is reached next week, negotiations will begin at the end of the month with the European Parliament and the European Commission to bring legislation into effect.