Celebrate 'Data Protection Day' in style

TODAY IS European Data Protection Day and the nation is in festive mood with all sorts of events on tap.

There is badger baiting at Kew, the ritual burning of a hacker along with face painting and fireworks at Hyde Park, and the Ministry of Defence will be playing a game of "find the laptop" in the gardens of MI6.

Nah, not really. It is one of those 'days' that pass more or less like any other, only we get a press release warning us to lock up our daughters, er, laptops.

This one comes from the Member States of the Council of Europe and has apparently been held four times before. Judging by the capabilities of Blighty government departments to lose their data, the 'success' of such a day seems to be a word well weaseled.

This is the date which marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Council of Europe's Convention on the protection of personal data. Dubbed Convention 108, it was the first legally binding international instrument in the field of data protection. We would have thought that was the lock and key, but we weren't asked.

The chief celebrator is the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), Peter Hustinx. He told us, in case we had not noticed, that societies and institutions are more dependent upon the widespread use of information and communication technologies.

Apparently this leads to the massive processing of personal data in almost all aspects of life. "It is therefore essential that everyone's fundamental rights to privacy and data protection are effectively protected in practice."

Actually we thought these were quite well protected in practice, it is just in actuality that people have problems.

All this adds up to is that a one-day information stand will be set up in the European Parliament today, 28 January.

That will shurely snap companies into line, no mishtake. µ