General Data Protection – Position of the Czech Publishers Association

The Commission’s proposal for a General Data Protection Regulation of 25th January 2012 impacts various activities of newspaper and magazine publishers’ businesses. As well as affecting editorial press freedom, it also impacts press distribution for both the consumer and the business-to-business press and the future development of the digital press, and therefore the economic sustainability of magazines and newspapers across Europe.

Furthermore, given the broad scope for delegated acts by the Commission’s proposal, the EU data protection framework remains uncertain and unpredictable to a large extent to European companies. We would like to highlight the following comments in particular: The need to safeguard press distribution for the consumer press, for the business-to-business press, and for the direct marketing purposes in order to preserve readership and media pluralism. The need to preserve editorial press freedom, to ensure free, independent and quality press and the need to secure the future development of the digital press, by avoiding unnecessary bureaucratic burdens and ensuring key elements for positive online user experience.

More generally, we are concerned by the many-delegated acts foreseen by the Commission to expand further these and many other provisions in the draft. Given the significant implications, we believe that any future changes must be subject to the full democratic EU law-making process.

Petra Fundová
Managing Director and Director of Publishing Burda Praha, Member of EMMA and ENPA