The LIBE Committee approved a report Wednesday stating the European Parliament should not agree to the EU-U.S. trade deal, the TTIP agreement, unless it fully respects EU citizens’ data privacy, Help Net Security reports. The report, which passed the committee by a 33-7 vote, condemns the “vast, systemic, blanket collection of personal data of innocent people, often comprising intimate personal information.” The committee also “voted against calling for asylum protection for former U.S. intelligence agency contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden,” EUObserver reports. In the U.S., the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has testified to a Senate committee that the NSA's phone data collection is unlawful. In a recent interview, EDPS Peter Hustinx discussed NSA surveillance and the forthcoming reforms of the data protection regulation. Meanwhile, the European Agency for Fundamental Rights has released its official agenda for the EU, which includes recommendations on the EU data protection framework.
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